


A United Convalescence

by deadmannewil



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-01-31 22:25:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadmannewil/pseuds/deadmannewil
Summary: As this fic is currently under renovation and immense rewriting stages, the summary will be known later.Apologies for the inconvenience.





	1. Therapy One - Familiar Outline

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hi guys, this is my first ever “fanfiction fanfiction” that I took seriously and with a lot of thinking, and that’s also not a script.
> 
> To carve right to warnings (although if you’ve read tags you should expect it to be a rather angsty and, at times depressing story), this one will have ramblings, that are destructive, as well as detailed mentions of the process of cutting on yourself. If you’re uncomfortable with that… I’m afraid I can safely say this work won’t be for you, as I will probably dive into that area more than once, or even twice. In fact, there might be something worse to come later. If you read the tags, you probably know what to expect of this chapter, as for other chapters I haven’t added info to the tags just yet.
> 
> This chapter is also likely going to be fairly short, compared to chapters to come later (I can categorically say that, for one, chapter two is going to be about twice as bigger, and chapter three is… Just enormous to even compare, really.), so if you come here expecting small chapters, then I’m afraid to tell you that your preference isn't here, forgive me.
> 
> I do also want to wish you good luck and to have patience throughout the story, and if you’ve got any criticism, constructive, direct, impolite or polite, like I probably said more than once, feel free to address it my way! I’ll utilize it to improve this, and maybe later works which I also thought about to write later… But shh on that, okay?
> 
> That being said, have a terrific read!

===Kris’ PoV===   
  


You can’t stop shifting in your bed, as you’re looking for a more comfortable position to finally fall asleep, yet to no avail. You glance at the clock. ...It’s at 2 AM. You should’ve been sleeping 2 hours ago. Yet, for a simple reason of you being you, thus, being a worthless idiot, you don’t need to think as to why you can’t sleep.   
  
...You decide that it’s rather futile to try and sleep, at least for now. And so, you stop lying to yourself by trying to close your eyes as an attempt to make fall asleep easier. You look once more on the clock. Two minutes have been added to the same 2 in the morning, from when you looked at it before. The ceiling, the sight you’re so used to, still tastes like the same tasteless textureless dread in your mouth… Yet, oddly, it feels you with thoughts. Not thoughts about something in particular, but just thoughts.

 

What were you doing yesterday anyway, you wonder. Ah right, you were just on the same routine, school, home, being in isolation from everyone and everything. Not bothering to talk to anyone, not even to your mother, not bothering to stand outside for a little while, to at least get some fresh air. To say hi during school to at least Noelle, who seems to see you as her friend, even if you were causing a ruckus to her in childhood. And don’t forget the times you tried acting nicer recently. As a result, she became shyer and more distant. Who’s to blame here? Obviously yourself, just like for everything you’ve done, as always. 

 

You’re thinking: why? Why would anyone even  **wish to** be your friend? You’re thinking of anyone that’s somewhat friendly to you... And… You regret thinking about it: You’re sort of on good terms with Monster Kid, whose actual name you’re unsure of to this day, unless Monster Kid is their actual name. You’re good with Jockington who’s actually a cool and chill guy, with Catty the edgy goth cat who finds more interest in the phone, with Temmie who’s just… Temmie..? Snowy, while cracking the same laughing material, can still be pretty funny (at least, funnier than your mother or brother with their puns). You like the guy. One guy you can’t stand, is Berdly. You don’t hate him, as he’s never done something that would out-right disturb or hurt you… He is just a prick, while not a lot of people are pricks, in fact literally nobody is a prick in Hometown… At least to you. You’ve strayed from the topic, yet you realize that… You don’t really have any enemies, now that you think about it. Everyone in town is friendly with you, some more than others, some less than others, but nobody really hates you for anything, except yourself, in fact, hardly anyone really notices you most of the time. You at times find yourself just… Existing. Not living, just existing.

 

There’s only one person who you’re unsure about, on how she views you: and it’s Susie. A quiet person just like you, she never really talks to people by will, and when she does, she’s rather rude or fierceful. But, even if that’s the case, there was no case of her being a harsh bully, or something. Just an unfriendly, anti-social outcast. Pretty much just like you, except you couldn’t probably do anything to a person, while she is probably able to pretty much kill a person bare-handed.    
  
You find it odd how, suddenly you’ve become interested in getting to know her. You do know that she’s an outcast, pretty much just like you. You do know she doesn’t like talking (at least from what it seemed to be), and you know that she’s lonely, and doesn’t have any friends.   
  
But, as you were thinking of that, you can’t help but look, once again, into yourself.    
  
You wonder where your happiness has gone, why your energy has faded, and how you, yourself, fell so low. Then the realization hits you like a truck would hit a small bird, crashing the bird into nothing but ‘paint’, with no trace of any bones or skin or feathers.    
  
Truth is, you miss your only real friend, who you know you shouldn’t call a friend, considering he’s your actual brother.

 

It feels as if without him, your life has no colour anymore, and because of that, you seem to be struggling to keep your days ending normally. It feels as if now you have no more fun in life. Nothing or nobody to hang out around. To be around you. Close to you.   
  


You recall a moment from a time ago. You don’t remember how long ago it was, but it wasn’t a short amount of time that has passed and you’re sure of it.

 

…….   
  
You both, with Asriel, stand at the train station. Your mother gave you two time to say goodbye to each other, from one brother to another. It wasn’t you who asked for it, it was Asriel who did, and your mom did give you what he and you both, wanted.   
  
Asriel hugs you, holding you tightly, while saying - “Kris, it’s time for me to go. Don’t worry about me, I’m not leaving forever, I will come back as soon as I’d be able to, and I promise, we’ll hang out for a while then! Don’t think of it as me leaving you, you know I have to do this… You know our mother wants me to, our father wants me to, you too want me to, don’t you?”   
  
Holding tears back, you reply. - “O-of course I do…”   
  
“I know, Kris, I’ve always known you wanted me to succeed, you’d never wish anything bad upon me, haha, that wouldn’t be my brother as I know him.” - He assures, and you know he’s right.   
  
You nod in agreement.    
  
He lets you go, and with a sad face, he looks at you and asks you for a promise. - “I only want you to promise me, that you will wait for me… Don’t think of it as a chore, please, I know you could start thinking of it as a needless task, so you won’t, instead think of it as just one more day, to hold one more day, to wait for one more day, after the one day comes another, it won’t make it as much of a chore, I promise you. Please, Kris, I know you dislike making promises, but… It would really help me.”   
  
You can’t say “no” to him. Not even with a promise.   
  
As such, you accept his wish. - “Alright, Asriel… I will wait for you, I promise… But… I think I will miss you a lot...”   
  
“Kris, I’ll miss you too… Just, don’t think of it too much, alright? If you don’t, perhaps the days will pass like nothing...” - Asriel hugs you again, your vision of your memories fading.   
  
“Please take care of mom and dad, alright?” - Were the last words you’d hear from Asriel directly. Until he returns home, at least.

 

…….   
  
“Like nothing.”- Hah. That’s the biggest lie you’ve ever gotten to live through, and you’ve only got yourself to blame for it. You’re pathetic, you think of the phrases that your brother said, and you are unsure why. Do you want to blame your brother? For what, though?   
  
You dive into your thoughts again… Yet, you shatter them as hastily as they started, like when a hammer is thrown at the glass, shards of which hit back at you, making thousands of cuts on your body, as you’ve realized, that your brother only wanted well for you. Your brother thought what he said, would help, he only meant well.   
  
Only meant well…   
  
It’s your fault. It always is, and it always was.   
  
The salty water, that people call tears, drops down from your eyes. You’re a crybaby, aren’t you?   
  
Haha. This should be funny, but nobody’s laughing, in fact, it’s eerily quiet.   
  
You try to stop the thoughts. You should distract yourself. You think of a couple of ways… And you decide to get up, to get yourself a drink. You wouldn’t wake mom up now anyway since she’s in deep sleep now, so, there’s no way to fuck this one up, as such it’s safe to go. You get up from your bed and navigate for your phone, you take it and wake it for the screen to provide light.    
  
You navigate through the room to find a light switch and turn it on. Afterwards, you walk out from your room, and go downstairs, heading to the kitchen.   
  
_ You can't run away from reality. _   
  
In the kitchen, you turn on the light switch for more light, open the cupboard and pull out a glass. You turn on the tap that has a filter installed, and get your glass under the water flow. When your glass is kind of full, you close the tap and drink water from it.    
  
_ You are nothing but a nuisance. For everyone. _   
  
With your thirst quenched, you turn the other tap, intended for unfiltered water, and wash your glass with it. You put the glass back into the cupboard and close it, then you flip off the light switch and wander off.   
  
_ You should think about ceasing to exist. Maybe it'll make people happy. _   
  
With your phone still illuminating light, you come to the stairs and…   
  


_ Give up the act. You know you’re right. Ignoring yourself is not going to help you. _   
  
You just decide to go to the bathroom. You need it. You need the distraction.   
  


_ You can’t last more than several days without it. You are pathetic after all. _

  
In the bathroom, you, as always, flip the light switch on, and reach for your hidden spot, and pull an adequately crafted knife, with one bandage roll just in case.   
  
_ You are sick. Sick in the head. A sick masochist. _   
  
You don’t know why you keep doing this. It just helps you. It helps you to be less mad at yourself. It helps you to not be so harsh. It helps you to keep going. It helps you to be at peace with yourself.   
  
_ Or perhaps the reason is, that you simply enjoy getting your blood spilt, enjoy seeing yourself at harm, enjoy pain dealt on you. _   
  
There are plenty of reasons as to why it’s wrong to keep doing this. You shouldn’t be doing this. This is dangerous. This is morally wrong, isn't it? This isn’t healthy. And if, god forbid, your mother finds out, she will freak out. She will be completely heartbroken. If you make the cut in the wrong place, with the wrong depth, you may die. If people find out, on the other hand, what will they think? Will it be that Kris is a freak that likes hurting himself?   
  
_ Just stop thinking about it. Do the freaky thing, do the “Kris” thing. _   
  
But then… If it helps you, is it really all that bad? The risk is there, sure, but if it helps, is it really that wrong?   
  
You take the knife in one hand and move to the sink. You place the knife on the counter, and roll your sleeve up, seeing your product of work once again: a couple of scars, of varying freshness,  depth, colour. Some feel like they were done about 3 days ago, others feel like it’s been several months since, you sternly recall that you started this by accident, when you were cutting yourself a piece of cake, you weren’t careful enough, and it started just like that…    
  
_ Even when you think about a sick thing, you see as if it’s an arguably good thing, it still comes from a mistake, a fuck-up, just like you. _   
  
Gripping the knife tighter, you lightly press the sharp side of the blade onto your forearm, sliding it across your skin, leaving a mark, which at a fast pace, reveals the crimson liquid. That same liquid which flows through you. You slide it about 3 times lightly, which doesn’t give you much of an effect, yet you still wince slightly, as it’s still a feeling far from being pleasant. In fact, it's so weak, you don't even let out a sound. Any sound. You're as quiet as a plank.

 

_ Except that the plank can be used for many things, and you for nothing. _ _  
_ _  
_ You look at your arm, with three medium, not at all deep, scars that you’ve just made, and you think that a couple more wouldn’t be so superfluous… Right?..   
  
You grip the knife even tighter, and at a faster pace, you move the knife once again but across your arm this time, and-   
  
“Ghh!-- Fffuuh… Aughh… Hhhhhaaah...” - you let out, you’ve made a rather deep cut, and it hurts. You almost dropped the knife but luckily didn’t. You place the knife in the sink.   
  
“Ahh… Hhaa… Ffha…” - You breathe, your breath slow, as you quietly keep wincing from the pain.    
  
You feel yourself calming down, your tension becoming less of a problem. You feel better, even if it hurts.   
  
You look at the wound, it bleeds with haste. You turn on the water, and wash your arm, making blood to be pink, dropping into the sink. You tear some toilet paper and dry your arm using it, the wound still bleeds, of course, but it’s clean enough, you think. 

 

You apply the bandage onto the wounds, making at least 3 rolls around the bigger wound. When you’re done, you wash the knife of your blood, and then you return the items back at the hidden spot.   
  
You look at the bandaged wound, which is far from your first, and it doesn’t look that bad, but you can see quite a bit of red colour where you’ve made a deeper cut. Yet it doesn’t bother you that much, and you unroll your sleeve back to how it was.   
  
You grab your phone once again. You switch the light off, and you proceed to your room.   
  
You are in your room, and you flip the light switch off, moving to your bed, falling in, and covering yourself with the blanket.   
  
You start sobbing into the pillow, asking yourself - “Why am I such a fuck-up?” - but you know that the answer won’t come.   
  
3:33 AM on the clock, you are more tired than you were before. Must be the torment from yourself.    
  
You hope, that tomorrow, will be a better day for you.

  
  


……..

  
  


You find yourself slowly awoken.

  
You did sleep for what it’s worth. You’ve heard your mother call to you, saying that you and her could still make it, if you wake up now.   
  
You glance at the clock, and it’s 8:51 AM at this moment. You think that you should hurry, not to bring your mother any more trouble than you’ve already brought upon her.   
  
You throw the blanket to your left. You could say you were practically “submerged” in the blanket, but now you’ve finally crawled out. Already having your apparel on you, you only need to brush your teeth. You’re relatively clean as well, you don’t smell, so it’s fine being in your clothes for more than a week, you’d say. You’re not somebody who’s doing much activity or let alone, sweat.   
  
You shrug at your thoughts and feel the pain on your arm. You pull up your sleeve to inspect your bandaged wound. It’s not that red, at least, not as red as you were expecting, and it probably stopped bleeding now anyway, so you take the bandage off, and throw it in the trash bin. With that done, you step out of the room and go downstairs.   
  
Your mother sees you.   
  
“Good morning Kris! Please, go brush your teeth, and if you’re ready, let’s drive out to school! We can still make it if we hurry a little bit..!” - Your mother said. - “I will wait for you outside. Please don’t take too long now, okay?”   
  
You nod. You don’t feel like talking today. With her leaving outside, you head to the bathroom.   
  
You flip the switch, get your brush, the paste, combine them, and start brushing your teeth.   
  
After a minute, you’re finished, you flip the switch again, and move out with a hurried step, not to make your mother come in later than she already would have to.   
  
You walk out of the house, your mother closes the door, while you get into the car. When she’s also there, she drives out, since the car was already working.   
  
Your mother presses on the gas, and the car gets you both through your small town.   
  
“Kris, I’ve got great news to tell you, Asriel should be coming here next week!” - Toriel delivers exciting news.   
  
All you can think of is just to say - “...Really?”   
  
“Yes! I’ve got an email from him, saying that if everything will be alright, he will come to Hometown. He really looks forward to seeing you, it’s been two years, after all…” - She explains.   
  
“...hah.” - You’re unamused.   
  
You don’t really feel happy. Look at yourself. You’re a mess. What will Asriel even think of you?   
  
Golly. The day hasn’t even started, and you’re already being a downer. Keep it up, Kris.   
  
“My child, are you alright?” - your mother asks.   
  
You nod, lying to yourself. If you were to speak now, your voice would probably break. You’re not dumb enough to let in that you’re having problems.   
  
You wouldn’t want your mother to worry, right?   
  
Toriel looks at you with a worried face, and muses - “Well… Alright, but if you are not fine, at any given time, please, don’t hesitate to talk to me or… Your father. I don’t think you’d want me or let alone us both to worry, right?”    
  
What you’ve thought, she just said. But why does it hurt, hearing your own words and your own thoughts from her? Same words, another person, not a significant change, is it?   
  
At that thought, you through the car’s window, seeing your little town. Seeing people walking to wherever, for whatever. Some wave at your car, greeting your mother, and possibly you as well.   
  
After a while of a ride, you notice that you’ve finally arrived at school. To the place that is your routine. To the place where you’re the odd one out, not meaning you’re completely alone.   
  
Well then, it’s time for the routine to eat away at you. You take your mother’s hand which she reached out to you, and you both walk inside the building, holding hands.   
  
You know that from a different perspective, this might feel odd, and maybe childish… However, holding your mother’s hand gives you comfort, comfort that you desperately need, comfort that you cherish and would, perhaps, suffer for.   
  


As you come to the middle of the corridor, your mother hugs you, as a temporary goodbye, and a mute wish for you to have good luck. You hug her back, as a response that you’ll try to, and, afterwards, you quickly walk to your classroom. You hear your teacher, Alphys, say something about partners on your way to the class. You open the door, walk in, and close it.   
  
“O-oh, K-Kris, howdy!? You almost m-made it on t-t-t-time... Come on now, take a s-seat! “ - Alphys greeted you.   
  
As you walk to your desk, people greet you in whispers, some do gestures, to them all, you just show one of your thumbs up. You take a sit and place your head on it with a quiet thud.   
  
“Kris, we’ll be doing group projects. You should pick yourself a partner! I’ll tell the topic of it later today, so… Find yourself a partner now!” - You’re announced with the news from Alphys.   
  
You immediately think to ask Noelle, as it seems everyone else has a partner yet.    
  
“Oh, Kris, hello!” - You wave to her, and point at her, and then yourself, hoping she will understand. - “Hmm? Oh! A partner? Sorry, Kris, I’m already partnered with Berdly...”   
  
Of course. You’ve expected this because it’s Berdly. He’s practically the only one giving you a hard time.   
  
_ Do not get worked up about this Kris… _   
  


Maybe you deserve it? Maybe you deserve at least one guy telling you that you’re miserable? That you look like you’ve fallen from your bed multiple times throughout the night? Maybe you deserve insomnia that you have?   
  
_ Calm down… _   
  


You wish to stop thinking about this. Your brain complies.   
  
_ It’s fine… It could’ve been worse, and besides, there are still more classmates to ask. _ _  
_   
“But uhm… I can ask Ms Alphys if it’s fine for us to be a group o’ three! Are you fine with that?” - Noelle reassures.    
  
You understand that this is your only chance to not make things worse, while there are other students, looking at them now, you see that they all already have their partners. 

 

So, without further hesitation, you nodded. You thank Noelle in your mind. You are sure that you don't deserve such a sweet, supporting girl.  
  
Smiling, Noelle accepts your answer - “Okay then.” - And turns over to Alphys - “Uhm, excuse me, Miss Alphys?”  
  
“Yes, Noelle, what is it?” - Alphys replies with a smile.  
  
“I wanted to ask if it’s fine for us to take Kris in our team…” - Noelle sheepishly asks.  
  
“What? Nope! Nuh-uh! I’m against this, I refuse! ABORT!” - Berdly gets in the conversation.  
  
_Shit..._  
  
“Berdly,” - Alphys barks - “please allow Noelle to speak.”  
  
“oh I was actually just thinking if we could-” - Noelle whispers  
  
“Noelle, I can’t hear you, please speak u-” - Alphys says before interrupted with a loud thud.  
  
The door opened, and the person you’ve forgotten about entirely as a partner option, Susie, has just walked in.  
  
“O-oh… H-hello, S-S-Susie.” - Alphys greets her.  
  
“...am I late today?” - Susie asks in a quiet voice.  
  
“What? No, no you’re not late!” - Alphys panicky retorts - “J-just that you’ve missed som- Ah… Susie, we’re doing group projects for this month, and you’re partnered with Kris!”  
  
How amazing. You’re going to be partners with the person that’s close to being as closed off as you… If not more closed off, actually… Now that you think of it, Susie is pretty quiet, at times, maybe beating your silence easily...  
  
“...great.” - Susie responded with and… She sounds quite… You can’t really describe it. You don’t know what to expect of it further. You gulp, it feels as if you’re afraid of what’s to come… Not an emotion you've felt for a while.  
  
“A-alright, so now that everyone’s here, I-I don’t see no reason to stall further… I-I’ll write the as-assignment now!” - Sheepishly, Alphys changes the topic. She seems to be afraid of Susie.  
  
Alphys comes to her table, and looks for something… Then, she hurriedly looks over the drawers, and with a bit of an odd look asks - “Oh… Ah, did anyone take ch-ch-chalk and forgot to p-place it back..? I can’t find it anywhere in h-here.”  
  
Everybody keeps silent. You don’t really care about it as nothing will come out of this.  
  
“G-guys, y-you know I can’t begin the lesson prop-perly without a-anything to write with!” - Yet, Alphys still tries to get an answer out. You can hear the desperation in her voice.  
  
“A-Alright, if you guys won’t tell me where the chalk is, you will all get in trouble… Please d-don’t make it h-ha-harder for us all...” - Alphys again tries to have some justice for her… Although, you think that it’s a rather low blow. Nobody will fall for it. She herself stated that she’s the “cool teacher”, she won’t have the courage to really do anything.  
  
“A-anyone..? P-please?” - And yet, it’s saddening to look at her. She just wants to teach you things, and yet, she’s unable to.  
  
“Miss Alphys, maybe the chalk is in the closet?” - Noelle Suggests. - “Maybe me and Su-”  
  
“That’s a great idea, Noelle! Susie, since you came in last, can you please go and look for chalk? It should be in the closet.” - Alphys takes charge.  
  
“...sure, whatever.” - Susie blurts out, before going out, shutting the door with an another loud thud.  
  
“Kris… Can you please g-go with Susie, and make sure she actually grabs the chalk? You’ve c-come second to b-being last, and I’d appreciate it. B-but, if you don’t want to...” - Alphys asks you.  
  
You shrug and stand up. You’ve heard MK telling you to be careful, in response you’ve shown them the usual gesture of the thumbs being up.  
  
Alphys smiles to you. - “Thank you, Kris. B-be careful!” - You don’t know what to think of the last words. But you try to smile to her.  
  
You walk out the door, closing it silently, and you notice Susie, fidgeting in her pocket.  
  
And… Wait up… Did she just… Eat chalk?  
  
She turned to you, and noticed you, with a surprised body language, and loud exhale through the nose.  
  
Oh dear… Are you in trouble?

  
  


\------

  
  


===Susie’s PoV===

  
Look at me! I’m the happiest monster alive! I got a hollow human as my partner! The one who’s quiet, who’s staring, who’s just… So uncomfortable to even look at, honestly.   
  
I can’t stand him. He’s the only kid who I’m especially annoyed about. He’s always just staring! Staring with his neutral, emotionless gaze. He never spends time with people, from what I can tell, however, he has a good mother, and he has a good brother, so how can he be such a hollow piece of shit? I don’t have the quarter- no, even the sixth part of what he has, and yet, even I have fucking emotions!   
  
Ah, whatever. I’ll just have this snack piece I snatched yesterday, and go get that same chalk from the closet.    
  
**CHOMP!** \-- Yuck- what an awful taste.   
  
Wait, did I just hear a step? I turn around to look at...   
  
**_...Oh._ **   
  
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. This asshole is with me even before we need to actually do anything? I know that I’m not to be trusted, considering how I act, but fucking hell, I’m not as worthless to send this idiot to observe me. Give me more credit, Alphys!   
  
Fuck this. I suppose I’ll just have to make sure he wouldn’t snitch that I ate the chalk, right? No point fighting him, or something. People who are this quiet are… Creepy.   
  
“...Kris. Didn’t see ya there.”   
  
This kid is just staring. Just keeps fucking staring.   
  
I don’t know whether am I freaked out, or whether am I annoyed, but whatever I feel - it’s not pleasant. Why does this kid show no emotion?   
  
I decided to ask him, just to make sure - “Kris… You did NOT see what just happened now, did ya?”   
  
He shakes his head. But still has the same fucking face. Holy shit, this is ridiculous. He’s so quiet it’s actually deafening. What do I expect now?

 

Perhaps, I should make it even more clear for him, that I'm not somebody you wanna mess with...   
  
“Ah… You can’t even say that, huh?” - I state out loud.   
  
He shook his head again, with the same, unbothered face.   
  
… Alright, this is not okay. Is this kid even here with me, right now? I always knew that humans were fucking weird, that’s what my granny said, but this is above weird on many levels! This is just… Plain creepy! I’m done playing games. It’s personal now. Silence of his is unbearable.   
  
I take a step towards him, which judging by his body language, makes him much less comfortable. Yet, the weird part, is that his gaze, look, and face in general are the same. ...Is it even a gaze, considering I can’t see his eyes? Yet, he still keeps on looking, keeps on observing.   
  
With moderate speed, I take more steps, heading to his direction. He backs away, and then he looks back to see that he’s surrounded. Him being in such a situation, being afraid, is a pretty thrilling feeling. It makes me feel stronger, more… Menacing.   
  
.I don’t want to be all menacing… But at this moment, to this kid? I do quite want that.   
  
“Kris… Hold on a second.” - I fake my voice to sound sort of happy, calming, cheerful even; to make this dumbo unexpectant of what will happen next. - “Kris… Hey. It’s okay, I just wish to tell you a fact about me…”   
  
O-ho-ho… This kid finally will get something, that’s been coming…

  
  


\------   
  


  
===Kris’ PoV===   
  
“It’s okay”   
  
These words.   
  
These fucking reminiscent words.   
  
These three simple words.   
  
Today you already thought about Asriel, and it was minutes ago! And, yet, here they are, the dooming words, that Asriel used to tell me a lot, with both my mother and my father.   
  
Your parents divorced? - It’s okay.   
  
Asriel leaving you for a long while? - It’s okay.

 

You not sleeping normally for, pretty much every day? - It’s okay, too, then isn’t it?

 

What bad is happening in your life is and perhaps always will be subtitled by these three fucking words.   
  
This is suc-   
  
“Ghh!..” - Your throat tightens, your body starts shaking a bit, but the worst thing, is that your arm hurts. Air leaves your lungs, making you wish to cough, but you hold it in.   
  
Susie just hit you across the school cabinets. It hurts hard, and you can feel that something is wrong. It’s your arm.   
  
“Quiet people piss me off.” - Susie bites at you with her words.   
  
It’d be funny, considering both she and you are quiet people. What makes her different from you, you think. Yet, you’re not sure if you have the power, let alone the audacity to respond to your troublemaker.   
  
Susie keeps you like a ragdoll, all with one hand, and she keeps you by your right shoulder, the one which has the wound. And it hurts even more. You feel yourself shaking. Is this okay as well?   
  
It’s fine Kris… It’s okay…   
  
It’s  _ always _ fucking okay, yet, truthfully, it never is, never was, and never will be.   
  
You can feel your eyes becoming watery... But it’s okay right? It’s okay to cry, that’s what Asriel said, your mother said, your father said.   
  
Hell, you recall that even Noelle herself said that. That it’s okay to cry, to let your emotions out.   
  
All is okay, right? It’s all fine! You’ll get caught, like you’re some psycho, but it’s okay. right!?

  
“Uh… Kris?” - Susie questions your behaviour.   
  
_ It hasn’t even been 10 minutes of your time in school, and you’re already raising questions. _   
  
It’s fine. It’s okay. You will be probably bleeding. But it’s okay.   
  
It’s all flipping dandy!   
  
Susie lost her grip on you, and you fell on the floor… You look up at her, and you can see that her expression is far from happy or neutral.  You don’t know what to think of it, as you can’t see her eyes. You move your hand and touch your cheek, you feel your tears. That’s probably why she’s stepped away.   
  
You stand and rush to the bathroom.   
  
“H-hey, Kris, where are you going..?” - You hear Susie call out.   
  
You can’t allow Susie to see your wound. That's not happening.   
  
You have to check the wound. You thankfully remember that your school restroom has bandages, so you walk in. You hope it didn’t reopen.   
  
You know Susie is following you. You need to get out of her sight… Restroom could work, maybe she’ll respect your privacy… You don’t have much choices, and you’d rather not risk with the one that doesn’t involve the restroom.   
  
You open the cabinet, and take out the bandage roll. You roll up your sleeve, expecting the wound to be in the bad condition, as you know, being hopeful for the best, is pretty much futile. And, when you finished rolling the sleeve up...   
  
_ It, indeed, has reopened. _   
  
**You didn’t fucking stitch it, did you?**   
  
Goddamnit, you’re an idiot. You apply the bandage hastily, and it falls from your hands. You pick it up and repeat the process but it’s very humiliating.   
  
When you think it’s enough, you tear the bandage, and put it back in the cabinet, closing the door of it.   
  
As you unroll your sleeve, you should be glad that it’s over, shouldn’t you? But…   
  
You just… You can’t take it anymore. You fall on the floor, crawling and cuddling up to the wall like you’ve been impaled to it with a nail gun, with long nails tearing through your skin and meat, bringing intense pain… But you’re without all of that pain, as there are no nails…

 

You breathe, breathe again and again, and then you break, afterwards, frantically crying to your arms.   
  
_ A failure is all that you are. _ _  
_ _ Useless. _ _  
_ _ Life is a blur, and so are you. _ _  
_ _ Your brother left you, because of you. _   
You can hear Susie knocking on the door for what feels like the fourth time.

_ It’s useless. _

_ Your life is irrelevant. _ _  
_ _ You are irrelevant. _ _  
_ _ You will die alone. _

But you don’t care about her knocking.   
_ You’re pathetic. _   
_ It’s useless. _ _  
_ _ Your mother doesn’t love you. _ _  
_ _ You are a freak.  _

You wish to be alone.   
_ Alone forever. That’s the only fitting conclusion. _ _  
_ _ No wonder why you don’t have real friends. _ _  
_ _ You’re pathetic. _ _  
_ _ You’re nothing but a failure. _   
However, the door opens, and you can see her.   
_ Look at her. She sees how pathetic and weak you are. _ _  
_ _ You deserve this. _ _  
_ _ Who are you to blame her for doing what she did? _ _  
_ _ It’s useless. _   
You just continue to cry to your arms.    
_ What a fucking crybaby. _ _  
_ _ What a fucking waste of food, oxygen, space, strength. _   
“Jesus fuck, Kris… What… What’s with you?” - Susie moves closer.   
_ You’re such a fucking nuisance. _ _  
_ _ Look, you’ve made her concerned. _ _  
_ _ Such a waste of her emotions. _ _  
_ _ You’re pathetic. _   
“Did I really hit you hard, or something? Talk to me, man...” - She questions you. You don’t have the guts to answer.   
_ You’re weak. _ _  
_ _ Weak and alone. _ _  
_ _ Nobody to come to, nobody to help you. _ _  
_ _ That’s what you deserve. _   
You shiver, as she walks up closer.   
_ She didn’t do anything more than to press you against a closet. _ _  
_ _ And yet, you’re afraid. _ _  
_ _ Such a wimp. _ _  
_ _ Such a loser. _   
“Kris, come on, man. Don’t be like that… I didn’t mean for it to go like this, honest!” - She’s concerned.   
_ What will you say? _ _  
_ _ A freaky fact? _ _  
_ _ Tears in response? _ _  
_ _ Just shut your mouth. Man up. _   
You think you need to talk, to explain yourself…   
**But what will you tell her?**

**Will you cry to her?**

**What will you say?**

**What can you say, really?** **  
** _ You don’t have words. _ _  
_ _ You don’t have anything worthy of saying. _ _  
_ _ All that comes out is white noise. _ _  
_ _ And you didn’t feel like talking today, you fucking idiot. Can’t even be true to yourself. _   
“N-no… I-It w-was n-n-not tha-that much of a hi-hit… T-Th-The reason I ca-came he-here is di-dif… Different...” - You blurt out, with your voice all broken. A lump in your throat, doesn’t help speaking..   
_ You don’t get to choose your way to talk. _ _  
_ _ This is all you deserve. _ _  
_ _ It’s all useless. _ _  
_ _ Your life is irrelevant. _   
Susie looked at you, kneeling to get on your level, and asked: - “Then… Why are you here?”   
_ You’re ungrateful is why. _ _  
_ _ You’re pathetic is why. _ _  
_ _ You’re an idiot is why. _ _  
_ _ You’re a fucking freak is why. _   
“A-a… It’s p-pe-perrsonal…” - It is quite personal, you imagine, but you need to tell her still: - “J-just your w-word c-choice…”   
_ Personal or not, you’re pathetic. _ _  
_ _ Personal or not, you deserve to be here. _ _  
_ _ Personal or not, your wound should’ve been lethal. _ _  
_ _ Personal or not, she shouldn’t be worried. _   
“Wait, word choice? What do you mean by that?” - She’s confused… Did you really confuse her now as well?   
_ The only thing you’re good for. _ _  
_ _ It’s all futile. _ _  
_ _ You should just die. _ _  
_ _ You should just drown. _   
“Y-you w-wouldn’t care…” - You mistakingly blurt out.   
_ For a lonely wimp that was uncalled for. _ _  
_ _ You’ve lost all respect from her now, right? _ _  
_ _ What have you fucking done? _ _  
_ _ You’re such a moron. _   
Susie falls silent.   
_ You’ve fucked up. _ _  
_ _ Watch how she will hate you. Watch now she may get sad. Watch now as you ruined every chance to get to know her. _ _  
_ _ Nothing will get you back now. _ _  
_ _ You’re such a fucking mistake of evolution... _   
“J-just… Pl-please… G-gi-give me a m-minute… I’ll c-come, we-we’ll get th-the chalk and then… And then I’ll just do our project… A-alright..? Ple-please, just… Leave me alone for some time…” - You can’t deal, but be frantic. You look at her, expectant of an answer.    
_ Look at you. _ _  
_ _ Fucking up words. _ _  
_ _ You’re nothing more than a pathetic idiot. _ _  
_ _ You regretted it before you even said it. _   
More deafening silence from her. But her face seems sad now, or is it a mask..?   
_ A mask, you say. _ _  
_ _ That’s hypocritical for you. _ _  
_ _ Just shut it, shut your fucking mouth. _ _  
_ _ Shut the fuck up. _   
With that, she leaves the restroom and closes the door.

_ You’ve fucked it all up. _ _  
_ _ You now need to atone. _ _  
_ _ You need to be good. _ _  
_ _ But how can such a strained person be good? Hint: you can’t be good. _ _  
_ She doesn’t shut it, she just closes it, you noticed.   
_ She wanted to help. Didn’t she? _ _  
_ _ And you pushed her away. _ _  
_ _ Well done, Kris. _ _  
_ _ Well fucking done. _   
You don’t know what to think of her now. Did she really mean what she did?

Or… Is she maintaining the attitude so she wouldn’t be picked on?   
Maybe, maybe she’s also lonely just like you?..   
_ Don’t compare her to yourself, you fucking freak. _   
_...You shouldn’t think about it that much, should you? _ _  
_ _ Just shut yourself. _ _  
_ _ Shut the fuck up. _

 

**Rolling up the sleeve, you get an idea, that came to you just now.** **  
** **  
** **You dig your nails into your closed wounds. It doesn’t make much for an impact, but it does make you feel less worried.** **  
** **  
** **You feel the pain, slightly, yet you also feel your worries going away at a slow pace… You don’t hear yourself anymore. You only see yourself digging nails slightly, turning the bandages of a crimson shade, further and further.**

 

**Ah… You’re not fine. Not at all…** **  
** **  
** **...Yet, you feel that you are okay now.**

 

Unrolling the sleeve again, you stand up, ready to walk out.

 

\------   
  
===Susie’s PoV===   
  
What the fuck have I done? Did I seriously hit him that hard, that now he’s sitting in a fucking restroom, crying frantically? I didn’t want to make him fucking cry, I just wanted to make a point and make myself safer! Who knows what to expect now from him? But that’s not even the creepy part. His fucking gaze still maintained even when he was so distressed. Seen his eyes as well, crimson red… Is it normal for humans to have such a colour?    
  
I dunno if I should be on guard now, or expectant of nothing. He pushed away my chances to help him! Just like everyone, I suppose he doesn’t want me to be nice, huh?   
  
Whatever. He asked for time, he shall receive it. I don’t want to make things even worse, or better now. I’ve got to work on the project with him, after all! ...He did say he will do it for me and him, but… Is it really true? It’s odd, considering I wouldn’t ask him of that, as that’s cheap, and well, it’s not really what I’d do, even if I wanted it. Is there more about him that isn’t seen? While this kid is fucking creepy, he’s much more mysterious...   
  
What do I do now..? What do I think now? Do I just go? Or do I wait for him?   
  
Ugh, maybe I should just get the chalk myself an-   
  
*Creeek…*   
  
Oh, the door is open.

  
“There, you fine now?” - I ask, genuinely curious, as it didn’t take too long.   
  
Should I apologise now? Or… Oh.   
He nods. He just fucking nods. He was talking in there, even if frantically, and now he just nods. What’s the deal with him, seriously?   
  
“Alright, let’s just get this shit over with.” - I blurt out, sighing, not wanting to waste more time, than I gotta.   
  
I don’t get him. I just don’t. I don’t think I won’t too, as he probably won’t talk to me.   
  
Anyhow, we walk to what seems to be the closet yet… It looks odd. Somewhat dark, heavy metal doors... it just doesn’t look like it belongs here.    
  
This is fucking freaky-

  
It suddenly opens with a thud, and all that’s seen inside is darkness.   
  
I feel even more unnerved, first Kris, and now this..? - “Kris is it just me or… Is it really dark in there?” 

 

Kris moves closer to the entrance… One can only guess why..?   
  
“H-hey, are you actually going in?” - I express my confusion out loud.   
  
He just fucking shrugs. Is he testing me now? This kid… Well, I’m not about to go wimp here, fuck that. I’m catching up to him and we both walk in.   
  
“Ugh, it’s so dark… I’ll go find a switch, follow me.”   
  
He nods, and we go. Why is he so quiet? I mean I get why, considering what happened several minutes ago, but still, he was quiet prior to my fuck up. It’s unnerving, really. My hands shake from how unnerved I am… First I show that I’m an idiot who, is apparently violent and now I’m in some weird, very long and very dark closet!   
  
“Ah… Kris, you know what? Let’s just go back to class and say we didn’t find the chalk. If Alphys wants it, she’ll find it herself, am I right?” - With that, he shrugs. I just give up.    
  
We come back to the doors, and as we get close, they close.   
  
_ what..? _ _  
_ _ No. Nononononono. _ _  
_ _ Please? Let us out? _ _  
_ _ LET US OUT _ _  
_ _ LET US OUUT _ _  
_ _ PLEASE NO… NO! _ _  
_ “H-Hey, let us out you jerks!” - I scream.   
_ NO, NO, NO! _ _  
_ _ F- wait what? _ _  
_ _ The floor is… Moving? _ _  
_ “Uhm… What the..?” - I muse out loud.   
_ It falls off?  _   
“FFhh!” - I wheeze out of surprise.

We fall… Is this it?..   
  
\---------   
  
<Dark World part will be skipped, as it would be too much unnecessary rewriting. It’s mainly unchanged, it goes more of the same, it’s just that Susie is less of a douche to Kris, less wary of Ralsei. Nothing major, nothing minor. Same ending, pacifist route, yada yada Susie is a “sister” to Lancer by the mind. If you were hyped for this part… I’m sorry? But hey, there are some parts of the dark world in the second chapter.>   
  
\---------   
  
===Kris’ PoV (From his home now.)===   
  
Well… This day started off being terrible for you. You’ve had what looked to be a panic attack, had your wound reopened at a bad time, you’ve had problems with an outcast just like you… And then later, you’ve become friends with that same outcast, you got two more friends, you’ve “fulfilled the prophecy”, and generally you had a better time today than you normally have. I even had the strength in me to go around town and talk to people.   
  
...I should’ve gotten Susie’s phone number, contact her tomorrow and what not.   
  
Tomorrow is Saturday, meaning no school, meaning no sleep, meaning… Going back there tomorrow?   
  
You are assured that you have to go there tomorrow. And, Susie did ask you for it. You nodded to her then.

  
You are excited that you have a reason to wake up, that’s not entirely dependant on your routine.   
  
...You wonder how fast will you fall asleep today. Yet… Your eyes are already closing.   
  


Perhaps, it’s time to say goodnight to yourself, eh?   
  
...Goodnight, Kris.

 


	2. Therapy Two - The First Correct Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris and Susie, not being allowed back into the Dark World for whatever reason, decide to hang out.
> 
> ...Some curious incidents happen, and one reindeer is being very helpful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so, so, SO sorry this took so long.
> 
> I know that some of you guys seem to really like this fic and I know I promised you guys a second chapter a lot of times...
> 
> I'm happy to say, that it's finally here.
> 
> I'm very sorry, if this chapter doesn't meet your expectations, or dropped in quality. Needless to say, I was very hesitant on this chapter, not knowing how to write it most of the times.
> 
> Had a change of the plan two times, and the third time, that I ditched the plan, it finally arose to be.
> 
> I hope, that you'll enjoy reading it, and I certainly do hope that it doesn't suck.
> 
> Please, enjoy, and if it's not a bother, tell me how'd I do. I really need feedback.

===Kris’ PoV===

 

...You find yourself quite tired, but, somehow awoken.  
  
Are you sure you’re you?.. Perhaps…  
  
...No, it’s you, still you, will be you. Why wouldn’t it be you?

_you need to wake up._

You suddenly feel like you should wake up, you have an unexplainable feeling that you gotta. You slowly arise from under your blanket, looking around your room, seeing it mildly lit. All the lighting comes from the window, which means that it’s morning.

 

But, what time exactly is it? You grab your phone, unplugging the charging cable from it, waking it up and seeing that it’s 7:26 AM.  
You are confused, as there’s no way for you to wake up at such early hours, is there?  
You however, decide to shrug it off. You feel like you’re forgetting something. Something… Something important.

  
...Oh. Of course! Today you and Susie will go back into the Dark World!  
And since today is Saturday, it means that the school would be closed… But, since today is the week that had middle-school graders having first exams, your mother will be at school to grade the papers, which, luckily, means that you should be able to get in school no problem, as long as you’ll be quiet, not to have any questions arisen.  
  
...If that’s the case, maybe you should go and take a shower and get yourself somewhat more presentable than you were… Than you were practically all this week, really. Perhaps you should also have breakfast but first, comes the preparations.  
  
This time you believe you should be more ready for the other world, you think - bring more gear, maybe different pencils/pens would work; more food,since food is pretty much the equivalent of medkits there; maybe… Maybe something else?  
  
...For sure you’ll be grabbing your bag. Long time no see, eh, bag?  
  
But, to do all that, you need to actually stand up from your bed. And so… So you succeed.  
  
Crunching with your bones, you do some exercise, some sounds loud, others not so. But, even if that’s the case, you still do it. You like the sounds, and the feeling of losing that numbness is much better than to hold it, you’re sure.

 

Well, as you’ve stood up, you go to the closet in your room, and you search for your bag, and- A-ha! It’s there.  
Your bag is… Nothing quite out of the ordinary. It’s a typical, made of brown leather, satchel that uses fastener with clasps as a way to close it, or open it.  
It’s medium in size, and goes over your shoulder, but it can store much more than it shows, as well as it’s very durable. It’s something that was a gift to you, and if your memory serves your right, it’d be a gift from the Holidays, or well, Noelle.

You suddenly have a thought, about how you’ve been practically ignoring her, when Asriel left to college.  
...But then, she was one of the only four people, who were there for you. Who tried to help you, who… Who was your actual friend.

...And, if you remove your parents from that four-people list, it’ll make only her the only one left.

 

You, at the moment, have a bit of a sore SOUL. She’s been there for you, and you’ve done nothing to make it worth her time--

 

_not now, even if you’re correct, you’ll have time for it later. now you need to think about other things. you need to focus elsewhere._

 

...You, suddenly, feel like your worries have stopped.

...You’re right, you don’t need to think about it now. You can think about it later, maybe apologize to her for your behaviour later, too. But now, you really need to focus. You have the bag now, right? Now… What can you bring there with you?  
...Hmm, maybe a notebook would be handy. Maybe some notes could be made…  
...But, if a notebook would remain unchanged, what about your pencil? Last time it was a wooden sword, can you even bring something like a notebook into that world?

 

Doesn’t seem like it, so a notebook won’t do.  
You think more… Maybe some stuff from your pranker stash would be of usage-- Wait, you have firecrackers, and cherry bombs, those things could become lethal there… Not good.  
Maybe you should just grab a pen, and… What would do for an axe?  
...Think, Kris, think… Axe… What could Susie have on her?..  
  
...You really have no idea. She doesn’t have any hair clippings, does she? No, you’re pretty sure she doesn’t. You take a mental note to ask her about it later. It’s not a weird question, is it..?  
...Shouldn’t be. But even if… It’s hardly a weird question, right...  
For now, you’re out of ideas. But, you dig into your bag and-- you feel something metallic.  
Could it be… Could it be your dagger? That old thing you had since… Since forever?  
It’s… It’s rusted. That’s a bummer… But, now you can probably put it in your desk, and have it there.

 

It definitely has been a while since you opened the bag, huh? You used to carry the knife in case of any emergency, or self-defense, right? Like, to be more safe, since you didn’t like walking alone unlike now, now you quite like walking alone… If you are motivated to walk, that is.  
Huh, odd thought. You put the dagger in the desk, as you won’t probably need it, and it’s quite old, due to its rust. But, at least you found it.

 

Think, Kris, think… Oh, right! Pen…  
Would pen be something of ranged weaponry? The clicking pen, for example?  
...Would be interesting to see, you think, and you take one-no, two pens with you. Clicky pens. You can’t help but click the pen, you love the sound…  
But, you need to focus on more important things. Clicking them once more to close them, you put them in the bag.  
Next… You don’t quite have any ideas left for general items… What would a rubber do?.. Absorb attacks? ...Hmm, maybe it’s something worth grabbing too. And so you get one eraser.

 

...Now, however, it’s time to put food in. Checking the time, it’s 7:43, took you a bit longer than you wanted but you should be able to make it on time still.  
You grab the bag and quickly walk out of your room, not closing the door and heading straight to the kitchen.  
When you get there, you decide to see what’d be useful… You, at first, look for any plastic bottles. You should maybe, bring water with you. You haven’t found any water on your journey there, so it might come in handy, for one reason or another.  
And there you have it, an almost finished two liter bottle of the so-called Cooloda, a cream soda with a chilling effect. Not thinking much of it, you finish the soda, having the pleasant and icy feeling in your mouth. Then you wash the bottle inside with filtered water, cleaning the remains of the soda, to ensure you’ll have clean water.  
After you’re done, you fill the bottle with the same filtered water, closing the bottle with the cap, before you put it in the bag.  
  
Now… Food. You open the fridge to search for food. Searching for a while for the best choices, you decide to take the pie, that’s both Cinnamon and Butterscotch but you don’t stop there, and decide to make some ham sandwiches, maybe with cream cheese sandwiches too.  
You’re not hungry, so you don’t salivate, or feel sudden appetite. Makes it easier to put stuff together.  
You grab ham and cream cheese from the fridge, as well as you take bread out of the bread box, moving to take a cutting board with a kitchen knife. Putting bread on the cutting board, you cut the bread neatly, obtaining six slices. You also take a spoon from the cabinet, to spread the cream cheese around, and use it to, well, spread it around the six slices. Having that done, you move to cut some ham, which you do, resulting in 6 slices, two slices for each bread slice. Putting it together, your sandwiches are finished, you take a container out of the cabinet to your right, and place the food inside of them.  
  
You remember that you wanted to cut some pie too, you take it and cut up three slices, putting them into another container.  
When you’re done, you put the containers in the bag, and now with your bag having weight that you can quite nicely feel, you decide that now, you could go ahead and do something else…  
  
Shower! Clothes! You still need to do that!  
You put the bag on the counter-- but before you go getting yourself clean, you need to clean what you used. It’s a good gesture after all and why not make your mother feel a bit better, with her not needing to do anything and her being able to just relax, right?

Yeah, that sounds good… Well, with that done, you have to get ready for that shower and well, take the shower.

 

 

===Susie’s PoV===  
  
Ughh… Wh-what happened? Why is my back so- Oh, oh right I was just sleeping on my favourite bench.  
Maybe I should try using leaves as some sort of a mattress. It’s Autumn anyway so there’re plenty of leaves to use, and scot-free!..  
...Man, why am I thinking about it like that? They’re leaves, who would even need them? We’re not in a fantasy world here, trees wouldn’t miss the leaves they’ve lost anyway. There are no ents. Not in this world anyway…  
...Speaking of ents, I wonder if there are any… I suppose relatively standard fictional creatures in Dark World. Would be pretty dope to see a wooden giant, or a pesky elf.  
  
...It’s morning, huh? And it’s Saturday… School won’t be open-- Ah, for heck’s sake.  
That means that what I told to Kris, has no ground… He’s smarter than me, he wouldn’t come.  
...Right? He wouldn’t. Why would he.

...Hold on, what if he would? And would wait there for me? What… Ugh, hell, what have I put myself into… Well, I suppose I should just go there, I guess.  
Yeah, like, I don’t quite have anything to bring. Except-- Yup, this little thing from yesterday is still there, this cool little stone, or should I say, my amazing ax.

 

It has changed, too. It was a bit neat, a bit rough, now it’s more smooth. Pretty sure that’s cause Kris bought a cooler axe while there. But hey, I like this one more anyway, the neatness is quite nice, and colour went from completely gray to something closer to granite.  
It’s… Cool, is all. But would’ve been nice if I could’ve possibly gotten some food or something.  
I mean man, we had cake slices, we had burgers, there was salsa too!! And yet, I’m still awfully hungry. I suppose I gotta play the squirrel terrorist again, unfortunately.  
I don’t really like to have to kill these little animals. They’re cute, and yet so helpless that it makes me sick on the inside…  
But then again I don’t really have a choice. I don’t want to go out starving to death. That’s a terrible way to go, and a painful way to as well. And I don’t have the audacity to ask people I don’t know for food either. I mean, who am I? Just some boring outcast, ditched by life itself.  
Oh well, not like I get to complain… Well, squirrels, here I come. Hide in your homes, please…

 

As I see one squirrel on the ground, I quickly dash, and catch it with my claw. I immediately use my other claw to break its neck, so it wouldn’t suffer. Least I can do.  
Then, I simply chomp it whole, breaking and feeling the bones on my teeth.  
Ugh, even if I’m a dragon, and it’s probably natural for me to eat such things, it still feels wrong and doesn’t even taste good. But, it’ll keep me going for some time.  
Finished with that one squirrel, I proceed with digging any stuck pieces of fur, leather, bones, and possibly meat from my teeth… I’d love to brush them, but I don’t think it’s something I’ll be able to do until Winter, gladly it should come in a few months, so at least something is nice.  
  
Man, what time is it even? Where’s my sundial? Oh, here it is-- SHIT IT’S ALMOST 8:30?? ALREADY?? Fuck, I gotta hurry if I don’t want to make Kris wait.  
  
I mean, hell, everywhere is better than here. Might as well have some company while I have the chance. I mean heck, are we friends now? We still barely know each other, sure, but if I will miss this chance, I might fuck up and make everything worse as always… Not about to risk that.  
Right, less talk, more thought where to go from here… School is… That way, right? Yeah-yeah, it is the right way.  
Well, darn, the faster I go the better it’ll be, eh?  
  
===Kris’ PoV===

 

Ah, what a refreshing shower it was. Now you’re clean, and smell of apples. And apples smell nice.  
Your clothes are changed as well, yet, it’s the same look, just a different pair of clothing. You can’t help it, you love the sweater, you love the jeans, they’re both comfortable and both look nice. You’ve yet to put your sweater on.

 

All that’s left, is brushing your hair.  
You decide to try and brush your hair to look less timid, look differently. Yet… Your hair is quite disobedient, and doesn’t want to be groomed differently. Oh well, it seems you’ll be sticking with the same haircut, not that it’s bad.  
  
You look at yourself in the mirror. You seem to look quite fine, not to mention you’re much cleaner, and what to hide - smell better. Yet, you frown, as you once again notice your scars on your arms. These scars will stay there for a while, unless you use a healing bandage, or ask for it to be healed by magic. But, a healing bandage is very specific and can only be bought if it’s requested and asking people to heal it would make them concerned… Normal bandages will have to do.  
...You just hope you won’t need to do it again, to put the blade to use.  
  
Yet, deep down you realize that you won’t get what you want.  
  
Shaking your head, you wear your sweater, and step out from the bathroom, heading straight to the kitchen. You pick your bag from the counter, as well as your phone.  
  
The clock says it’s 8:28 AM, which basically says that you still can take your time.  
...You, however, wouldn’t want to make Susie wait. Wouldn’t be fair. So, without other words, thoughts, or whatever else, you step out of your house, close the door and you lock it using a key, stuffing said key in your pocket. With a deep breath, you start walking towards school, walking on the sidewalk. The weather today is somewhat chill. Wind is moderate, yet is quite breezy. Your sweater, however, keeps you warm and cozy.  
  
You wonder if it’s going to rain, and so you decide to check your phone, for the weather forecast. With a couple taps and slides, you open the browser with the wanted website.

\--------------------

[www.hmtngov/wf.mon ](http://www.hmtngov/wf.mon)8:32 AM  | Mo-Com Lite

  
HOMETOWN WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10.21.XX:

\---  
Short version/General info:  
Expect moderate rain. Moderate wind, 8 **°** C. Mostly cloudy.  
Will get colder later today. The wind could grow faster.  
Stay tuned for updates!  
\---

Long version: View?

\---  
-> VIEW WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10.22.XX <-  
-> VIEW WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10.23.XX <-  
-> VIEW WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10.24.XX <-

...

\--------------------

 

Huh, turns out it is supposed to rain later today. You put your phone away and then you shrug. You don’t think you’ll need an umbrella, considering you’ll be somewhere where it shouldn’t rain…  
  
...Speaking of which, could it even rain or snow in the Dark World? You take a mental note to ask Ralsei about it later.

 

You just keep walking.  
That’s right, you keep walking, and your thoughts are silent. You have hopes for this day, which is nice, to have hopes for something in a while.  
You haven’t had hopes for anything in a long while. It’s breath of fresh air, having something to look forward to, after so long.  
You finally see the school building in the distance. You made it, just some more steps to take, and you’ll be on an adventure again.  
You look, and observe what you can of school, and you see that a certain purple figure in that same blue jacket sitting on a bench.  
You hope that you’re not too late, by her time.  
As you come closer, she notices you and with a short smile, she comes closer.  
  
“Heya, Kris.” - She said, holding her hand out to you. - “How are ya?”  
You shake her hand, shrugging your shoulders.  
  
“Uh-huh… I see you came prepared, eh? What’cha got?”  
You unzip the bag, and take one container out, as you look at her for her reaction, you saw her eyes light up, as if you’ve brought something very important. You must look confused, as when Susie saw your face, she immediately turned away.  
“Ah, well, that’s cool. We got food, and I suppose some extra space too, eh?”  
  
You nodded, and gestured for her to follow you with your hand.

 

===Susie’s PoV===

Well, I wasn’t late, and he came prepared this time. Very, very prepared.  
I really hope the portal will open, it gotta, I’ve been- and still am- looking forward to come back there. To check on Lancer, see Ralsei, and have some fun with our little Fun Gang. I wonder how Ralsei is doing, and how tough king’s duties are for Lancer...  
  
Ah well, we’ll know in a bit if it’s open… Man, I am quite anxious aren’t I?  
But… I’m getting ahead. Is school even open? If not, I guess we’ll have to get there some other way--  
  
But then Kris just opened the door. Just pulled the handle and it opened.  
“Whuh? It’s open today? It’s Saturday, right?”  
He nodded with a smile for a response. I’ll take it.  
“But how?”  
“My mother works today. She’s grading the papers of the middle-schoolers. She’ll be here all-day. Now, please, keep quiet in there.” - Kris said.  
I can’t get behind Kris’ voice. When he talks, it’s sudden and he’s a quiet guy most of the time… Hard to get used to the fact he can talk.  
“I see. Q-quiet it is then.”  
“Thank you. Now let’s go get to that… portal, I guess.”  
  
I nod, as we both walk into the building. We don’t stop, and with a quiet step, we proceed forward to the closet.  
Man, I can’t wait!  
Kris pulls the handle only to find that it doesn’t budge.  
I look behind to see if there’s anybody there, but nobody came. I look at Kris again, who’s frantically trying to open the door.  
“Hey, hey Kris, quit it. Let me try.”  
He looked at me, with an expression that for a second seemed like horror, before he stepped out of the way, changing his expression to something more neutral.  
I don’t know or have any good thoughts about this door, but I gotta try my hardest.  
I pull on it, not once, not twice, not thrice, each time putting more strength in my pulls… Yet, the door seems like it won’t open.  
“Shit.” - I curse in whisper, turning to look at Kris who…  
  
Who seems to have tears in his eyes?  
“Whoa, man. Calm down. If not today, perhaps another time, yeah?”  
“It’s just… So… S-So unfair…” - He stutters.

  
Poor guy, he must’ve looked forward to it much more than I was.  
“I mean… I’m upset too, Kris. If I’m honest, I’d love to break this closet’s door right fucking now but I can’t afford to, not here, not now.”  
“It’s not f-a-a-a-i-r…”  
“Shh, shh dude, quiet. You wouldn’t want your mom to freak out, would you?” - I say half-jokingly. I gotta like… Motivate him to calm down, right? Isn’t that how it works?  
“N-no…”  
“Then tell you what, let’s go hang out together, alright? If we don’t have an option to go there, why not hang out here?”  
“T-That’s… I-I-I’d q-quite like that… Yeah..!”  
“That’s the spirit buddy, that’s the spirit… Alright, let’s get outta here. Something about this door still gives me goosebumps.”  
“Y-you’re not the only one…”  
“Uh-huh… Really, come now.”  
I put my hand on his back, and we both move out. Kris walks slowly, slower than I’ve expected. He really seems down…  
Man, I hope hanging out won’t make it worse…  
Time will tell, eh? Anyway, we’re out of the building.  
“So, uh… What do you think we should do?”  
“I-I dunno… Maybe we could… Hang out in the forest for now. B-besides, I got all this food, and I won’t be able to eat it all myself, either.”  
Man, I am still quite hungry sure but is it okay for me just to take it?  
“I-I mean, I could do, I missed breakfast, heheh.”  
“Oh, please. Just… You’re free to take anything, really.”  
“Kris, did you eat this morning?”  
“Nope. Not hungry.”  
“Oh, come on man, unless you had some huge dinner yesterday, you’d be pretty hungry. I mean, I think you only had salsa in that other world, you haven’t had a burger, nor a candy, in fact you had nothing! Don’t go telling me you’re not hungry.”  
“U-Uh…”  
“Oh, hold on, we’re standing here near school like idiots, we gotta get lost before we raise suspicion, eh?”  
“O-oh, of course.”  
  
With that, I begin hastily walking towards the forest. There’re a lot of entrances, so I easily pick one to avoid my little bench place. Not because I don’t want Kris to see the cool bench I… I stole, kinda? It wasn’t really stealing, I just took it…  
A-anyway, I just don’t want him to get any ideas about it. I can manage, managed a lot, and will manage for longer. Gotta be strong.  
“Susie, hold on, where are you going so fast..?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You are… Practically sprinting… Why? We’re already quite far from school, it’s… Not a problem… Huff…” - Really? Oh, indeed. How did I not notice?  
“Oh, sorry. Probably got lost in a thought.”  
“A thought about… Huff… What?”  
“Meh, just some thought about how I like leaves. Pay it no mind, kay?”  
“Huff… Alright.” - Yeah man, I just randomly decided to think about my love for leaves.  
Of course. Perfect lies… I don’t think he bought it but at least he doesn’t ask me about it, so it’s cool.  
“Man, you gotta work out more. Your breather could use some work.” - I point out. Even though Kris wouldn’t probably have that much time to put to use to get stronger, I believe he could practice his running.  
“Yeah, yeah… You’re probably right…”  
“Yeah dude, it’d benefit you, not me.”  
“Uh-huh… Well, uh… Man, it sucks that we couldn’t go there, right?”  
“Yeah man. You really wanted to go in there, didn’t you?”  
“Yeah… Was looking forward to it this entire morning, you know. Collecting stuff, putting food together, all that.”  
“Yeah, and perhaps taking a shower too, huh?”  
“W-whu?”  
“Kris, man, you literally smell of apples. I’m a dragon, remember? My senses are quite high.”  
“...Right. Well, uh… So uh… Ya hungry?”

“Well, I did tell you I skip breakfast, right? What do you think man?”  
“Yeah, sorry. What do you want then? A sandwich with ham and cheese, a sandwich with cheese, or a slice of my mom’s pie?”  
“Hmm… Hard choice. Had sandwiches sometime earlier, so I’ll probably go with them for now. Will keep the pie for last. What’s in the pie though?”  
“Oh, the pie is cinnamon and butterscotch. So it’s gonna be sweet.”  
“Ah. Well, keeping desert for last is a better choice, right?”  
“Can’t disagree… I also have some water with me, just in case.”  
“Hmm. Needed, definitely.”  
“Well, alright. So sandwiches first…”

  
After he said that, he opened his, gotta admit, pretty cool bag, and got two containers out, with a quite big bottle of water. He then puts his bag away, it being against the tree, and then he sits on the ground, with all the autumn leaves crunching.  
He seems more calm. That’s good, right? Must be good.  
I also take a seat, against a tree of my own. I sit opposite of him, with him just looking around the forest.  
I pick one container up, seems like it’s the cheese sandwiches. Speaking of sandwiches… I open this container, and set it aside, from the way Kris’ head moves, seems like he’s curious. I take the second container, opening it as well. I pull the ham sandwich out, and take one cheese sandwich out…  
Fun part is, both sandwiches have one bread slice, meaning that if I combine them, I’d get a nice ham sandwich, easier to eat and cooler in general too.  
“Oh, didn’t even think about it like that. Good thinking.”  
“Yeah man, easier to eat now too.”  
I take the first bite. The sandwich tastes amazing. But, what could be in it, for it to taste better? It’s just cheese, bread and ham. Maybe my taste sensors have gone uphill from it, considering I haven’t had a sandwich like this in a couple of years.  
Almost tastes nostalgic. Grandma used to make ‘em, good times, good times.  
“So how is it? Is it okay?”  
“Yeah man, don’t worry about it. It’s perfect!”  
“Really now? Guess I’ll have one like yours too.”  
“Well help yourself, dude!”  
With a nod, he moves closer, grabs the two sandwiches, puts them together, and takes a rather hungry bite.  
“Oh wow, guess I can put some ingredients together after all.”  
“Yeah man, put them together like a champ!”  
“Hahah, maybe like a champ indeed...”

“Oh, don’t humour yourself. They’re fine.”  
“Yeah, yeah… Sorry.”  
We continue to have breakfast, mostly in silence, when I’m done, I move my hand to the other sandwiches, but before taking it, I look at Kris. He looks at me and nods, which I suppose means that it’s fine for me to take it.  
I take it, repeat the little crafting from before, and bite once again. Kris had a bit of water too, and before closing the bottle, he offered it to me, which I declined for now, waving my hand to him. He understood, and closed to bottle, placing it closer to himself.  
Man, this wasn’t a bad idea. And was quite good too, Kris is like, my saviour kinda. In dark world I was fed, and the feast continues.  
After some time, I finished the second sandwich. I point at the bottle which Kris hands to me, understanding what I meant and I take a few sips from the bottle.

Ah, how refreshing! Cool and clean water is the best beverage ever. This refreshing feeling is worth living for.  
“Thank you, dude.” - I thanked Kris.  
“No problem.” - He replied.

  
Oh dude, if you would’ve known how vital you’ve been just now…  
Man, at times I wish I could’ve just… Told him about my problems… A shame I gotta be so closed off and proud about it all.  
It is pride, isn’t it? Not seeking help, even if I need it? That pride that can’t be defeated.  
They do say that pride is a deadly sin, don’t they? Haha, that’s a bit funny. I even snicker out loud.  
  
“What’s up?” - Kris asked.  
“Just remembered something funny. Don’t ask.” - I sharply reply, not meaning to be sharp.  
“O-okay then.”  
Gosh, such minor fuck ups are so… Not annoying but like… I can’t really find a word for it...  
  
Man, maybe it was a bad idea to-  
“So, uh… You’re going to have some pie or..?” - A question is asked by Kris towards me, with it piercing through my mind, throwing me off-guard.  
Well should I really… Ah, to hell with all this, sure.  
“...Sure.” - I say, accepting the slice Kris gave.  
Kris looks at my slice and then back into the container at the other two slices. Shrugging, he took one slice for himself, and sealed the container.  
“Mom’s pie is too good to not be eaten.” - Kris said.  
“Well, if it’s that good, then I suppose it’s time for a bite.” - Said that, I take a bite.  
And hot damn, this pie is actually amazing! It’s sweet but it’s just right, not over not under, like a perfect amount of sweetness was measured just for this pie.  
The aftertaste of cinnamon, and something buttery is just… Woah. This is really mind blowing.  
How did his mom even come up with such a recipe? How was this possible to make? Is it even real? Am I dreaming?  
“Uh… Susie, is the pie alright?” - Kris asked, with an expression that best could be described as concern… His eyes would be helpful to see to fully comprehend the expression.  
Alright? No it’s not even close to being “alright”. It’s great!  
“Dude, no. It’s absolutely the fucking BEST pie I’ve ever fucking had in my life! Is it even real?” - I ask.  
“Oh, ha-ha-ha-ha! Yes, it is real. You’re not dreaming!” - He laughed out loud. I can’t help but laugh too. The laugh is infectious!  
And we both laugh, and laugh again. Laughing and laughing, like we won’t be able to laugh tomorrow!  
After a while, I calm down and finish the pie. He did the same.  
I once again point at the bottle, for it once again to be given to me. Drinking again, feeling the same amazing feeling of being refreshed, I slowly get up from the ground.

 

“Well… Where to now, Susie?” - He asked.  
“Umm… Hell man, I dunno. What you got?”  
“Well, we’ve sat here for… Quite a while actually. It’s now 10:24, so we still got plenty of time to spend, huh?”  
“I suppose you’re right. Maybe we uh… Go to… Hmm, damn. Tough to think.”  
“Our town isn’t quite large, yeah… But uh, how about we, I dunno, go to the diner, and after the diner we could go to… How about…”  
“Hey, I got a better idea. But before offering it, I gotta ask… Are you still hungry? Dude, you could’ve just told me you were hungry, I’d give you my second sandwich or I dunno, the pie slice."  
“Oh, no-no..! We won’t go there for food, rather we’ll go there for hot chocolate.”  
“Hot… Chocolate..? Is this some joke I’m not getting?”  
“...You’re not a fan of hot chocolate?”  
“I mean, I don’t mind it, I guess. But why hot chocolate? Why not, I dunno, some fancy-ass smoothie or whatever? Why exactly a hot chocolate?”  
“...Uhm. I just very like hot chocolate. And uh… It is pretty fancy, you’ll see it when you’ll see it.”  
“Alright, hell, out of questions. The idea is to figure out where-to-go-later, when we’d be at the diner. Sound good?”  
“Oh yes, that sounds great.”

 

===Kris’ PoV===  
  
After getting ready, you’re finally walking again.  
So… Now you’ll go to the diner.  
Funny how, you didn’t give yourself any chance to go there, you felt like it’d be betraying Asriel.  
...Yet look at you, without second thoughts, going to the diner.  
You wonder if Asriel would mind it… After all, it’s a place that you both used to hide from when your parents were at it all again… Or rather, when Toriel was at it all again.  
Asriel always made sure you were alright there-  
“Dude, snap out of it. What happened?” - Susie asked you, voice full of concern. She’s also holding your shoulder, in a similar way she held you when **she thrashed you.** **  
**

You feel dizzy. Very, very dizzy.  
...But why? Is it because of… Because of… Of what?

What… What's wrong?

 

...Is it because you haven't eaten in a while..?  
No-no _… N-no…  must resist… hold on, Kris..._ _  
_ You try to resist your fears and your tiredness, but it’s… Futile.  
You feel so… Tired… Tired and afraid...

 

You try harder to hold on, once again realising it's futile.  
You hear yourself fall on the ground. You feel nothing.

You near something that sounded like Susie's voice but you can't make it out.

 

…Everything is dark.  
  
...

 

===Susie's PoV===

What the fuck? He just… Fell? Why did he fall? Is something… Wrong?

"Get up, man! This isn't funny!" - I wheeze out loud, afraid.  
  
…  
  
Silence is my answer… God dammit… GOD DAMMIT! What do I-- Wait… What about his pulse..? Humans have a pulse, don’t they? Why wouldn’t they?  
I press my hand lightly to his neck…

...

  
...Oh no-  Wait… Oh, yes! He’s alive..! Thank god. But… Still, what is up with him? And… And… Dammit… What do I do now? I don’t even know where he lives!  
  
Hell… Maybe I need to go to our school and ask his mom about it?.. No… No, that’s not good… Given my reputation, I might make everything worse… Maybe I should just walk… Maybe I’ll meet someone who could help me.  
  
...Seems like a plan I’ll choose. Maybe, I don’t know, I’ll meet some friend of his… Maybe that reindeer girl, that girl always seemed friendly to Kris.  
Maybe I should check the library, she seems like a nerd, she might be there.  
Gosh, this will be embarrassing, eh?

  
I pick Kris up, holding his legs and back with my hands, with his bag on my shoulder and come out from the forest.  
...Ugh, thoughts just can’t get enough of me, can they? Even now they want to pester me.  
Not now. I got shit to take care of…

 

And, my thoughts are gone… For now, anyway…  
Now I can focus on getting to the library. I just hope that… Ah, fuck, what was her name..? Holiday? I believe that’s her surname, but for the name..? I… I can’t remember.  
Shit… What will I say? “Oh hello there, can I speak to Ms. Holiday?” - That just sounds weird. We’re both teens, that formality is… Stupid, to say the least.  
  
\---  
  
I just came out of the woods, and I’m already getting suspicious looks. Since it’s early morning, not many people are supposed to be awake and since it’s Saturday, it’s even less people that should be awake.

Yet, some people still oddly look at me… Or us, as if I did this to him..?

Shh, not today, conscious mind, I'll deal with you later. I still gotta bring Kris home...  
Is it odd that I find Kris to be… Surprisingly light? In fact, he’s very light and very easy to carry. Or maybe, I’m just this strong, not realizing it… Either way, he’s as light as a soot.  
...Soot, huh? Weird comparison, Susie.

 

...Still, what could’ve possibly happened to him? Why did he just fall, and now he’s like this..?  
...He can’t be fallen down, right? He’s a human… Humans don’t… Fall down, right?

 

Man, I'm clueless… I know nothing about humans.

But, I think they can't fall down… Ugh, I should've paid attention to biology classes. Sure, it was mostly boring monster stuff that's obvious to me but there were human studies too, right?

There should have been, unless…

Unless… Hmm. I didn't think about why Kris is the only human in town.

 

I do know that humans are now in a bit of a minority, due to how the war played out. But, they're not that scarce, are they?

I should probably do some research… Somehow. It's an intriguing topic, and I wanna know more about my friend after all.

 

Why am I so invested into this..? 

Alright, enough already, I'm finally at the library.

I open the door and…

 

"Oh, lovely, a delinquent brought the other delinquent. Ugh, did you do this to him..? Are you parading that you smacked him? Hah, probably well deserved." - Berdly said.

"You… What the fuck did you just say?"

"Struck a nerve, eh? Do know that there's a camera here and it can record sound. I'd be more than happy to give any proof of, whatever your nasty business around here is, to the qualified people."

"Call me a delinquent, and that’s fine-- But call him a delinquent and you're up for a death wish." - I say, grating my teeth together.

 

He could say whatever the fuck he thinks about me but not about my friend.

Not on my watch, especially when he can't hear it.

 

"Oh, good, sure do that, I hear prison life is very uh, pacifying… Anyway, enough of that, I don't have all day to talk to you. What is your business here?" 

"Is Holiday here?"

"Heh, *snicker* there isn't any holiday today. But, if you're looking for Noelle, she's upstairs." - Berdly said, thinking he was remotely funny.

 

Well, at least now I do remember that her name is Noelle.

"Good. Thank you." - I sighed. Saying thanks to mister blue annoyance is annoying. Who would've guessed, eh? 

"Ugh, you're welcome, I guess. I'm watching you, don't try anything."

 

"I won't. Not that I wanted to, in the first place." - I say, sighing once more.

"We'll see about that. Still, I'm watching you." - Berdly finished with a smug, annoying the ever living fuck out of me.

 

God, I'd love to do something to him… But no, he's not worth it.

Besides, didn't your time in The Fun Gang teach you they violence is not the answer?

 

I breathe out, calming down. Then, I finally walk upstairs.

 

"...No, that won't do… Bad colouring…" - I hear somebody say. The voice is close to Noelle but no assumptions yet.

I walk at a steady pace, looking around the library. There are many rather cool books, which I should, one day, to be reading, probably.

Worry about that later, though. I still gotta find Noelle.

I hear paper being crumpled. After it's been crumbled, I hear the sound of something hitting the wood, and a heavy sigh.

I suppose that person is not having a good time now, hell, maybe it's Noelle.

 

Finally walking up to the readers' corner, I see a familiar figure, of a reindeer practically laying on the table. 

Akin to how I would lie on the school desks, if I didn't have enough sleep.

Well, *sigh* here goes nothing.

 

"Hey, Noelle… Hello."

"O-oh, umm… Hi, Susie. You, uh- OH GOSH, is something the matter with Kris?"

"Umm, yeah… We were hanging out and then he just blacked out. I dunno why and I would rather bring him home but I don't know… Where he lives."

"O-oh… Umm, why didn't you go to Ms Toriel? She could give you both a ride…" 

"Uhm, she's busy, for one. For two, I think it would be too awkward and would have a chance of not ending well for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Given my reputation of a nobody, there could be some assumptions that wouldn't do me any good."

"That's… fair. So, uhm… You came to me so I could show you where he lives?"

"Yeah. I know it's kinda dumb but I don't know what else to do."

"Alright, give me a minute to gather my things… I've seen Kris like this before… He, uhm, could be malnourished."

  
Malnourished? I mean, sure, he’s as slim as a stick but… Malnourished to the point of fainting? 

Damn… But… How?

He has a good, no, perfect mother. He has a good home, and he generally doesn't live to survive, does he?

 

How could he just… Be malnourished?

Wait, he did eat with me though. Didn't that like… Matter in the slightest?

"He did eat with me though. He had a sandwich and a pie slice." - I say, worried about Kris.

 

"But do you know if he ate before you were hanging out? If he didn’t, him eating just made it worse." - She said.  
He… He didn’t eat anything while we were in Dark World, he always gave stuff to either me or Ralsei.  
Darn, if he didn’t eat then maybe he, at least, ate before our visit to the Dark World or later after we came back..? But if he did eat, he wouldn’t be in his condition now, would he?

 

And… Worse how?.. Wouldn't he still be getting calories from that food he did have?

"But, that doesn't make any sense… If he ate something, and he did, wouldn't that be better?" - I ask her.

"Susie, do you think that whatever Kris has taken from the fridge has been human food?" - She asks me, putting a question as an answer.

 

Right.

...Wait, what?

 

"What do you mean?" - I retort, not really understanding what she meant.

"If I remember the studies correctly, monster food is made out of magic. Magic, while is great for us, it doesn't have nearly as much of an impact on humans. Humans have their own food, which doesn't dematerialize into magic but rather it goes into their stomachs and disintegrates there, giving the needed human calories to their bodies…" - Noelle said, giving me a very satisfactory answer. 

"H-huh…" - I let out loud, taken aback by such information.

I would be a liar if I didn't find it interesting.

Noelle, visibly got embarrassed, I think… - "O-oh, oh gosh… I didn't mean to… Teach you..?"

"Oh, no-no, it's fine! I'm fact, I didn't know that, so it's kind of useful information..?" - I say, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah well… We either need to get Kris to eat a lot of monster food, which could be at his house, or we get him human food, which… Which I don't know if even exists at this point."

  
...Doubtful existence of human food..? More reasons for my later research then.  
Maybe, I’ll come here later. There is access to the internet in here, anyway… I doubt it will be easy for me to get through books to find answers to my questions.  
How dire is it anyway with humans..?

 

"Fair enough. Shall we get going..?" - I say, since the sooner we get there, the sooner we will solve the problem.

"Uhm, yes! I’ll uh… Lead the way!" - Noelle said, already having began walking.

 

\---

 

After a while of walking and not much talking, we’ve finally arrived to, what I assume to be Kris’ house.  
From outside, I like how it looks. It’s not that big, but it seems cozy. It also has flowers of various colours growing nearby.  
...Or not growing but rather standing nearby.  
Kris’ family must like flowers, huh?

  
“So, uhm… How do we get in?”

“Kris right here must have the keys, I’ll just grab ‘em and open the door.”  
  
“Oh, right. Sorry!”  
  
“Sorry for w-… I think you apologize too much.”  
  
“You t-think? S-sorry, I-I mean!!--”  
  
“Calm yourself, it’s all good. Now… Aha, these are the keys.”  
  
I walk to the door and, still holding Kris with my right hand, I insert the key inside, twisting it two times, with my left. It opens, I walk in, Noelle walks in too, before she closed the door.  
Welp… We’re inside. Good thing there’s a couch here, I’ll just place Kris there for the time being and so I do.  
  
“Alright… So, human food, huh? Any ideas how to differentiate it from monster food?”

"Huh… That's a good question. I believe it should smell stronger… However, if you could use magic, it'd be easy just to CHECK the food."

Magic? I think I can do magic, can I?

"Magic, huh?.. I can try, I just need to know how."

"You think you can? That'd be awesome, especially considering little monsters can do magical stuff now…" - She said, the second sentence to be quiet.

"Huh…" - I let out, baffled by this information.

So it's true then, not many people know magic.

...Still gotta know how to CHECK, so I ask Noelle: - "Well, can you surf the net to find out the way to do it?"

"O-oh, sure!" - She said, pulling her smartphone immediately.

With a few taps, at a pace slower than Catty's, she's at the browser.

 

While she does that, I decide to look for edible stuff in the house, grabbing various dishes, bread, bowls, packets that were open… And with a hint of my eye, I saw the packet's label which said "For humans."

"Hey, Noelle, uh… I found the human food."

"R-really? How?"

"Label on the package."

"O-oh… Of course!.. I should've thought about that, haha…"

"You and me both, if my eye hadn't noticed it, we'd still be checking it. So, even if so, you're still very helpful."

"O-oh… Thank you, Susie."

"You're welcome… Any ideas how to feed Kris?"

"U-um… Well, he doesn't seem like he will wake up so…"

"Forcing it in?"

"Unfortunately, yes… He will need to be in a sitting position."

 

Right… If he were to lay down, he could easily choke on it and suffocate… I don't want that happening.

"I agree. So, what is this food even..? It's some can with… Something mashed."

"Doesn't it say what it is?"

"It does not."

"H-how odd."

I open the packet, and sniff the content.

...Smells like fruit. Is this like, mashed fruit?

"It seems to be mashed fruit." - I say, a bit surprised at the discovery.

"Oh, that's good! It has quite a bit of fructose and nutrition when it's like that…" - Noelle said matter-of-factly.

"Seems like it's our choice then. Alright, now… Shit, I dunno where to get a spoon." - I say, realizing that it's my first time here… As well as hoping for Noelle to go get it.

They're friends after all, right? She gotta know where the spoons are stored.

"Oh, I'll get it!" - She said with a smile.

"Thanks." - I reply, smiling back.

 

She walked up to the cabinet near the kitchen sink, pulled a drawer to her side, and got a spoon out, before sliding the drawer back in. 

She handed the spoon to me, I took it with a nod, and having the packet open, I dig the spoon in, collecting what's believed to be mashed fruit.

The memory flashes, of me being fed by my mother with a spoon that once was an imaginary airplane…

My arm is shaking, and my throat got tight. I can't back away from the memory…

 

\--

 

"Here comes the airplane!" - My mother said, moving a spoon with the milky porridge to my mouth, smoothly.

 

I was smiling, my grin all toothy and honest. I open my mouth, eating the sweet porridge.  
I was, I think, seven back then. Yes, I know, getting fed at seven seems a bit… Childish. And, looking back, even at ten I was still fairly childish. Childish, naive… Just a kid.  
As I swallowed the porridge, I look at my mother…

Who's burning..?  
  
"Wh-what..? Wh-why… Why, mom? Why are y- "  
“Susie… You… You… You did this…”  
“M-Mom..?”  
“Y-You did this… You.”  
“Mom… Mom, I’m sorry, mom!”  
“No… You’re not.”  
  
And with that, the whole house burst into flames. With me being set on fire as well.  
  
\--  
  
“Susie… You… Are you okay?” - A soft voice is heard. Noelle is still here, with a worried expression.  
I choke on my words at first, not knowing what to say.  
Yet, I still gotta say something: - “Guh… Huh..? Oh, oh no. I can’t do this, heh, it’s too embarrassing.”  
“What? It’s just… Oh, um… You know, let me handle this, okay?” - She said, offering her help.  
“Y-Yeah… Th-Thaanks…” - I say, giving her the packet and the spoon.  
...Gosh darn.  
“Uh, Noelle, do you know where is the bathroom..? I uh, want to put some water on my face.”  
“O-oh. The bathroom is that door.” - She said, pointing to a door close to the stairway upwards.   
“Go on, I’ll handle this.” - She continued, afterwards flashing me a smile.  
“Thanks.” - I reply.

  
With a hasty step, I take off, and go to the bathroom. I open the door, turn on the lights, close the door, move to the sink, look in the mirror, fixing my hair before I began brushing my face with my hands.

  
Man… What a sudden outburst. And out of nowhere too. Am I truly okay living like this..?  
This was a minor thing, just a spoon, just feeding your friend. Is it really that fucking important for me to lose myself?

 

_Splash_

 

Guh, cool water… Man, it’s just so… So odd. It’s a minor thing and… And what if it were to happen when we would, I dunno, taking on that Queen that that Jester told us about? I’d just lose every possibility to ACT, or DEFEND, or if all goes dire, FIGHT.  
I realize that I’m the tank of our gang. I have the most health, and if needed I can tank it, and protect us all.  
If I would freeze, the results could be dire…

 

_Splash_

 

  
Brrh… Well… Shit. I need to fix this problem… Somehow.  
It’s not safe to be like this, right?  
I turn off the tap and go out, grabbing a towel, drying my face.  
I hang it on the rack, walk up to the door, turn off the lights, and walk out, of course not forgetting to close it. Then, I go back to Kris and Noelle.  
  
“W-Well, I’m done.” - I say, voice kind of raspier than usual.  
“I’m done as well. Now… I don’t know. I guess we could wait for Kris to wake up..?”  
“Yeah, that sounds swell.” - I say, agreeing. I won’t leave Kris yet, cause I believe I got some explainin’ to do.  
  
\--  
  
We sat in here for a while, not really talking. Kris’ breathing has gotten much better, turns out he just needed to eat. Noelle has a calm expression, yet she seems like she’d want to talk.  
  
“So.” - I start. - “We gonna keep quiet, or… We gonna talk?”  
“Y-you wanna talk with me..?”  
“Hey, I talked to you already today. Why wouldn’t I wanna? A friend of Kris is, I suppose, a friend of me too.”  
"O-oh… Umm… I suppose we could start with, uhm… G-getting to know each other b-better?"

 

I snicker, she's a bit open about her feelings, eh? She's nervous.

"You don't gotta be nervous, I don't bite, despite some people probably thinking it."

"O-oh, okay…"

"Well, sure, let's get the bonding out... Uh… Please don't ask me personal questions tho, I don't really like those yet… The whole friend thing is new to me." - I say, taking precautions.

  
  
I gotta get through my mess myself, gotta be tough. If she or Kris will find out about it…  
I don’t want them to.

 

"I see… Well um, did you sleep well?" - She asked, still with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda did. I don't feel sleepy, so… Yeah, I slept nice. What about you?" - I respond, curious about her sleeping too. I wonder if she sleeps well, considering her activities.

"I-I slept nice, myself!" - She said, stuttering a little…

"Glad to hear… How was your morning?" - I ask, kinda hoping her morning was better than the disappointment we endured. 

"It was a bit... Uneventful. I tried drawing but couldn't really do it well. I was losing focus, and I could not really control my drawings…"  
  
Darn, what she said is so… So close to home. Giving up drawing for the time, because of that frustration that you can’t do well…  
That feeling is ridiculously close to home… Nobody should have it, yet… Yet many people do, and there’s nothing that can be done about it, other than waiting it out.

 

"Hah, I know that feeling.” - I say. - “I could help ya, I wanna get back to drawing too, ya know."

"Really? I'd be grateful… I can't seem to like… Get any better at it, despite trying more and more…" - She says, with her feelings relatable more and more...

"I'll be sure to tell you some things then... But maybe some other day, my mind is not for drawing yet." - I say, sort of lying. I would like to draw now, in fact I wanna draw now… But, with Kris here, I don’t want to get distracted.

 

"I see… Actually, do you mind a question?.. It's about your absence yesterday." 

"Ah. That." - I say, knowing full well what she means… Shit, how would I tell her about it? She would think I’m crazy...

"No, I don't mind it.” - I start, trying my best to sound truthful. -  “It's one hell of a story, Kris right here made one hell of a game."

"A game?" - She asks, dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Kinda like a roleplaying game. A whole plot, items, and… It really made my imagination spin, you know..." - I muse, with a smile that just caught me itself.  
  
Ah, the memories from that day…  
  
“Do you want me to explain what happened, in a bit of a fairy-tale fashion?” - I say, hopeful that she’d agree to listen to me…  
  
Because, holy heck, that’ll be one hell of a story. And I do want to like… Just talk about it.  
  
“Um… Sure! I bet it’s interesting.”  
  
“Oh, it is.”  
  
\--  
  
“So, there were me and Kris. We were in another world, that is basically named “The Dark World”. And no, it’s not dark because it’s evil, it’s dark because it looks dark, and doesn’t have light.  
  
I’m a MONSTER, Kris is a HUMAN, and there was one more character, that was A PRINCE FROM THE DARK… The prince, had a name, and his name was - Ralsei… Ralsei was… A very nice little prince, shorter than Kris, yet fluffy and most certainly nice…”  
  
\--  
  
The castle’s entrance, with the figure that was once in a robe, standing before the human monster duo, smiling with his glasses, clearing his throat, before starting the conversation.  
  
“Heroes… It’s of most honor for me to greet you! I’m RALSEI, and I’m the prince, of this little castle…” - Ralsei said, maintaining his smile and his soft little voice.  
  
Kris, hearing this, has softened, and dropped his guard, whilst the ax wielding Susie, still wary of the figure that offered them both kindness, decided to question the prince a bit.  
  
“Ralsei, huh? If you’re the prince of this castle, why is it so quiet around here? Where’s the king, and where’s the queen?” - Susie asked, still gripping her ax but not looking threatening.  
  
Ralsei at those question, frowned for what seemed to be a microsecond, before smiling sadly, and answering in a soft tone - “U-Uhm… There are none.”  
  
“...What do you mean?” - Susie asked, taken aback by such an answer. How could there be a castle, with nobody inside? And that comes from a prince too?  
  
“There is nobody besides me in the castle. I’m the only resident!” - Ralsei clarifies, maintaining the soft voice, and the same sad smile.  
  
Kris couldn’t help but relate to the loneliness… He believed that Ralsei’s case was much more complicated than his two years without his brother, so he walked closer to the young prince and asked - “Doesn’t that… Feel lonely?”  
  
Ralsei noticed Kris coming closer, and turned to him, responding with a small frown, before turning it into a rather nice smile. - “Oh, it most certainly does, Kris! But I’m sure, that with you both I won't be lonely anymore!”  
  
Kris puts his hand on Ralsei’s cheek, and starts brushing it. Ralsei blushes from such a  pleasant touch.  
  
If goats could purr, then you bet Ralsei would be purring.  
  
“But… Where did the king and the queen go?” - Susie asked, scratching the back of her head, having removed her ax long ago.  
  
Ralsei looked at Kris, who stripped his hand. Ralsei then looked at Susie, with a neutral expression, probably not quite happy about such a question spree… But, then he smiled once again, as well as starting his little story. - “A-As far as I know, there were no king and queen… I just once… Appeared here, with nobody, but with everything I needed to live. I have fields that grow various edible crops, I have lots of books, that helped me at my vocabulary and knowledge, as well as magic spells! I have a kitchen, I have a bed, I have a lot of space around here, in which I could do what my SOUL would wish for... “  
  
“...And you’ve been here for… How long?” - Kris asked, curious about Ralsei’s story.  
  
Ralsei frowned, not knowing the exact amount of time that has passed… Yet, he regains his composure, and answers: “I don’t know… But, maybe more than several years… Maybe even more than ten years… It’s… Hard to tell.”  
  
“Damn. That’s tough, dude.” - Susie said, walking up to Ralsei. She didn’t know what more there was to say… Before an idea sparked in her mind, like a star would be born from all the cosmic dust.  
  
She takes Ralsei in her arms, easily lifting him up, embracing him into a hug.  
  
Everyone is taken aback by this, Kris looked at Susie in such a way you’d expect for a person who was bullied by that same bully who is currently doing a very uncharacteristic for her thing. Ralsei eeped out of surprise but also wrapped his tiny paws (compared to Susie’s large arms), around her too.  
  
They stood there for a while, before Susie finding the hug to be overdue, and setting him gently on the ground.  
  
“W-Wow… T-thank you, Susie… Didn’t expect to b-be hugged just now.” - Ralsei said.  
  
“It’s no problem, you looked like you needed one.” - Susie said, reasoning her action.  
  
And so, the heroes went on for the doors, with Kris still processing what just happened. Maybe Susie isn’t so bad after all, Kris thought.  
  
\--

“So like, after that, we’d meet another person, who isn’t like… I guess isn’t anybody important in terms of the game, unless you see him as a very vital secondary character! That kid, is Lancer, and Lancer is the other King’s kid.  
  
The kid is mischievous, and tried to make our lives a bit harder… But after a while, he pretty much got on our side and was a helpful asset to the team.  
  
There’s not much about discussing him, other than I gave him a candy, which apparently made his teeth disintegrate..? I hope not, that wouldn’t be nice.

 

I'd say, I quite admire him. He's been cool and cool, and very fun to be around, heh.

But before Lancer got on our side, we would walk around the world, fighting various guys, but instead of hurting them, we tried to reason with them. We were ACTing, ACTing is a game mechanic, like whenever you ACT, you choose something to do and that something, if picked well would make the enemy no longer want to fight us.  
  
And hoo boy, if not for Kris and Ralsei, I’m sure I’d never try it.”  
  
\--  
  
The three heroes were engaged in a fight, with yet another two Rudinns… But, this time, before making any move, Ralsei turned to Susie.  
  
Susie had her ax ready, signalizing that she was ready to deal yet another barrage of attacks on the enemies.  
  
She didn’t understand what was so important about making the enemies not want to attack them willingly. Just a strike or two, and they’d run away. It’s not like Susie would actually want to kill anyone.  
  
Susie is not a killer. Maybe a harsh brute, maybe a bully to the enemies but NEVER a killer. She does it to protect them, even if they say that they’ll handle it, she needs to make sure.  
  
She doesn’t want to have Kris hurt more than he was hurt by herself. She doesn’t want Ralsei, who’s admittedly weak to be hurt by enemies. She didn’t want herself to be beaten too.  
  
Even if Kris was an amazing dodger, and no attack ever landed on him, and even if Ralsei could heal them all just fine, Susie knew that you can only get so lucky.  
  
Susie knew she had to ACT, but ACT on her own.  
  
So why did Ralsei turn to her?  
  
“Susie, please… Can you try to… ACT with us, this time?” - Ralsei said, in a quiet voice, almost with a pleading tone.  
  
Susie considered it… She couldn’t deny that each fight that has ended, ended peacefully with nobody setting off or running away.  
  
“Ralsei, I don’t know. If these guys attack as first, why do I need to keep calm about it? I don’t want to risk it.” - Susie said, still with her thoughts but considering Ralsei’s offer more thoroughly, since he asked directly.  
  
“Susie, violence is never the answer… Didn’t you see it? We tried to reason with everybody without any violence and it all worked out in the end. Don’t you see it?” - Kris responded, backing Ralsei up, and taking Susie aback.  
  
...If Kris asked her to keep it calm, then maybe there is some logic to it. I mean, hell, she assaulted the kid not that long ago, if he thinks that violence isn’t the answer, then maybe it really isn’t.  
  
“*Sigh* Alright, wimps, no fighting means no fighting. I’ll listen to you, what do you need me to do?” - Susie said, finally agreeing to non-violent measures.  
  
“U-Um… Can you compliment the Rudinn? I’ll compliment the other one first, just so, you know…” - Ralsei said, offering his help.  
  
“I get it. I know I’m not that good at it.” - Susie admitted, not understanding Ralsei correctly.  
  
“That’s not what I--” - Ralsei tried to say, before a dagger of Rudinn’s cut him off.  
  
“Look alive! We have an order to fulfill!” - The first Rudinn said.  
  
“Yeah, we don’t wanna stand here forever! So do whatever you wanted already!” - The second Rudinn spoke.  
  
“Kris, orders!” - Susie said, not wanting this to continue any longer than it should.  
  
Kris nodded at that, and ordered Ralsei to compliment the first Rudinn, while Susie would need to compliment the second.  
  
“I think that even without your order being fulfilled, you’re still amazing!” - Ralsei said, immediately getting Rudinn’s eyes to shine brightly, like diamonds.  
  
“Ya really think so?? Damn! Then, maybe, screw this order!” - The Rudinn said.  
  
“Susie, your turn!”  
  
“I know… So, uh… Ya know, your dagger is very cool. Ya make it yourself?” - Susie said, silently berating herself for such a lame compliment. Tensing up, crossing her arms after her, ready for a spree of daggers to fly her way, she relaxes, seeing the same shiny eyes, as they were on the first Rudinn.  
  
“Oh, my dagger… Oh, my dagger! My dagger is great! Yes! I made it myself!” - The Rudinn said, happy about his dagger.  
  
With that resolved, Kris spared the two Rudinns and after they went their way, Kris looked at Susie, smiling at her wholeheartedly. Kris felt proud of her, proud that she is better than she seemed.  
  
Susie also couldn’t help, but feel slightly proud of herself, still being able to do something like that.  
  
\--  
  
“After that, we just continued with the prophecy, moving to the fountain that we needed to like… Seal, I think? Yeah, something like that.  
  
Lancer joined us a bit later, walking with us and moving to the castle, as we got close to it, we got detained and put in cells.  
  
Lancer, of course, wasn’t at fault. The kid talked to the guards and got us to the cells, despite that his father, being the King who despised our very nature, said to kill us.  
  
Lancer, basically saved us. And I admire the kid.  
  
...You know, it’s funny how at first, I thought he betrayed us. I wanted to strike him, to scare him, to get him to feel creeped out of his mistake.  
  
But I didn’t. And you know, that probably comes from Kris and Ralsei, who got the fact of violence not being the answer into my head.  
  
I’m forever thankful to those two, even if I won’t probably say it to them… Can’t admit it for some reason, but that’s a story that’ll remain unsaid.  
  
Anyhow, after all that we defeated the king… And, Ralsei… Oh, Ralsei, the poor naive kid...:”  
  
\--  
  
The king sat on his knees, breathing heavily, tired of attacking, tired of moving…  
  
Usually, if any foolish SOUL would dare to fight the king, that foolish SOUL would die minutes after at worst.  
  
Nobody was stronger than the king… But these three… The supposed leader was left without a scratch, since he dodged all the attacks that the king threw on them. The ax-wielding brute, if was damaged, she didn’t seem that phased about it… And that annoying, happy-go-lucky prince… That kid would heal either himself, or the brute.  
  
That annoyed the king. He needed to fight, he needed to kill these filthy lightners… And an idea sparked in him. He’d fool the lightners, and strike when they wouldn’t expect it.  
  
Oh, what a great idea it was…  
  
“A-Apologies, Lightners… It appears that my fatigue has got the best of me…” - The king said, faking a frown as best as he could.  
  
“Yeah. Now, will you stop freaking fighting? It’s obvious you can’t defeat us.” - The brute jabbed at the king, hoping for the fight to be over.  
  
“*Cough* Oh… It appears that I would have to, in any case… I see that my health… Has gotten worse. Turns out *cough* I’m not fit for such activities anymore… Am I? *cough*” - The king said, his acting deserving a Moscar.  
  
“Oh, king… Would you agree that it’s foolish to keep by old standards?” - The young prince asked, hopeful for the king to change...  
  
“He- heheh- heheheheh… Perhaps, that now, heheh, it is time for the new change… *cough* Perhaps it is time to put old, foolish delusions aside… Perhaps it’s time… For the peace to rise up once more. *cough-cough*” - The king said, his act finished.  
  
“Oh… Don’t you say another word…” - The young prince murmured, coming close to the king.  
  
Susie tensed up, and so did Kris, but none of them thought of attacking. Ralsei pulled his paw in the air, causing it to have the soothing, sunset-alike aura, causing the King to glow.  
  
Ralsei healed the king. And the king couldn’t be happier.  
  
Not only he fooled the prince, but now he could attack at his fullest force.  
  
“Are you better now, oh dear king?” - Ralsei said, smiling.  
  
“Oh, young prince… Let me see…” - the king said…  
  
BLAM!  
  
The barrage of spades flew from both ground and the top, it flew to all three heroes, tackling them hard, harshly causing them to be thrown onto the hard, concrete floor.  
  
Ralsei blacked out immediately, being little and raised in gentle environment, haven’t left the young prince any chance to fight back…  
  
But, both Kris and Susie, were still intact even if they laid on the cold, cold floor.  
  
Susie got up, taken aback by such a nasty stunt. She could only breathe out the two words, showing her surprised state - “You… You..!”  
  
The king, however, didn’t want any of that. He readied up two, extra sharpened spades.  
  
“Did I say that you were allowed to rise up?” - He taunted, setting the two spades her way.  
  
Kris, at his best instincts and filled with adrenaline, rushed out with his shield, blocking the two spades.  
  
“K-K-Kris..? Tha-” - Susie said, surprised for Kris saving her, before being interrupted by more spades, that arose from the ground, setting them both flying once again.  
  
Susie fell and laid on the floor, her eyesight fixated on Kris, who was more of the same. However, as Susie saw the King coming throwing more spades at Kris, setting him to the air and to the ground again, she panicked, and tried her best to get up.  
  
The king was moving closer to Kris, and Susie saw it. Susie got a sudden rush of adrenaline too, and ignoring the mind-numbing pain, she rose up, feeling dizzy.  
  
The king grabbed Kris’ neck, setting the poor human from the ground.  
  
The human grunted, and with his breathing being slowed, his determination fought for life. He couldn’t hear the king’s taunting directed at him, but saw him having a sharp spade in his other hand, ready to slash Kris once and for all.  
  
The human closed his eyes, ready for the blow…  
  
...Before he got dropped on the ground. Immediately breathing heavily.  
  
He looked up, to see the king, who with a very annoyed expression. looked at the brute.  
  
The brute that saved Kris’ life. The brute that looked like she’s about to give the king a run for his life. The brute that looked so hostile, so angry, and so disappointed in the king, that it made Kris flinch.  
  
“Hey, asshole. How about you get away from my friend?” - Susie screamed, with no hint of respect for the king in her voice.  
  
The king had a hearty laugh, the human gasped from Susie’s words.  
  
“friend”? Did Susie think of Kris as a friend..?  
  
The king interrupted the young man's thoughts as he walked with an uncaring fashion, towards his enemy.  
  
“Your friend? Hmmph! You? You think you can bounce the bouncer? To beat the beater? To slay the slayer? You? Some stupid teen that’s about to pass out?” - The king said, having another hearty laugh afterwards.  
  
“Damn straight, you goddamned tyrant!” - Susie said, spitting her words out like poison.  
  
“You’re as naive, as you’re delusional. And, you know… It’s a shame.” - The king said, moving closer and closer.  
  
Susie, had her other claw, not gripping the ax, move in a weird fashion.  
  
The king noticed it but didn’t pay no mind to it. Why bother? This damned reptile would be doomed in a minute.  
  
“A shame that such a worthy slave, would be wasted on-- oon… Hhuh..? W-hy am I-I so s-sle-sleepy..? What is this… Sudden wave of *yawn* tiredness..?” - The king yawned out loud, and fell to his knees.  
  
Susie pacified the king. And the king was defeated.  
  
\--  
  
“After that, after I pacified the king, came Lancer with troops.  
  
Lancer became the king, troops locked the king in the cell, we said goodbye to the people we met, and we got back.  
  
That’s how the tale ends for now.” - I say, finally finishing my little tale.  
  
Noelle looks completely awestruck. She seemed to really like the story.  
  
“O-oh wow, Susie… You’re a fantastic storyteller!” - Noelle said, complimenting me.  
  
Am I really though..? This is my first, it can’t be all great.  
  
“R-really? H-heh… Well, uhm… I have a good audience is all.” - I say, not really believing that I’m such a good story-teller.  
  
“Oh, come on… Give yourself more credit! I was invested in your story! It was so interesting! I wonder how Kris came up with all this?” - Noelle said, raising the real questions here.  
  
The real questions if my story was true, heh.  
  
“I don’t know too. The kid’s a genius is all I can say, heh.” - And it is all I can say.  
  
“Well, uhm… OH MY! Look at the time! I need to get to the hospital quick!”  
  
Hospital? Time? Wait… It’s like 11 now, isn’t it?  
  
“Huh? What time is it? And why the hospital?” - I ask, curiously.  
  
“It’s currently 11:46 and I need to go to the hospital to visit my dad, I can’t waste time so bye-Susie-say-hi-to-Kris-for-me-if-he-will-be-awoken…” - Noelle said, already going to the door.  
  
“Uh, bye-? Oh wow.” - I tried to say, realizing Noelle already left and closed the door.  
  
Man, she’s fast, huh? And… Oh hey, this little guy is finally waking up.  
  
  
===Kris’ PoV===  
  
...You are awoken?  
  
...Are you out of that dark place..?  
  
Are you finally… Finally okay? Are you out of the grasp of those terrible, terrible people?  
  
...Where are you? Are you at your home? How did you get here?  
  
Is that… Is that Susie aside from you?  
  
“Good afternoon, nerd.” - You hear her say.  
  
“Uh… Good afternoon..? How did… How did I get here?” - You wonder out loud, genuinely awestruck about you being here.  
  
“Oh gosh, you don’t remember, do ya?” - She said, putting a palm that is her claw to her forehead.  
  
“Am I supposed to..?” - You say, not knowing why.  
  
“Maybe, maybe not, hell if I know. Long story short, we were hanging out, you then for some reason fell, then I brought you here with Noelle, we fed you, and now you’re finally awake.”  
  
Fed? Noelle? Fell?  
  
...Did you really faint from hunger..? But, how did that happen..?  
  
“And you know, scrote, I have a real question for you.” - Susie said, leaning towards you, staring at your eyes through her and your bangs. - “How come. You don’t eat much. Despite you living in such a good house and having so many food?”  
  
You gulp. You can’t explain it… Nobody understands human psychology that well.  
  
Not even your mother, nor your father, brother, Noelle… Nobody.  
  
Susie is not an exception. She doesn’t know your condition… Nobody does.  
  
Why does it matter for her to know?  
  
...You need to come up with a lie, and fast.  
  
“Are you gonna answer me? I was scared you know. You fell so suddenly, I thought you wouldn’t be getting up.”  
  
...How about that you just don’t have that much appetite and forget to eat..?  
  
Yeah, that could work. Brush it off on human psychology.  
  
“Alright, so Susie, you know I’m a human right..? In our psychology, I think, I just don’t feel hunger that well, as well as I don’t have much of the appetite. So, I may’ve just… Forgotten to eat.”  
  
“Forgotten to eat? How the fuck does that work?”  
  
“Susie, do you know anything about human psychology? Even if I were to explain it, there’s a major chance you wouldn’t get it.”  
  
“U-uh… No, I don’t. But I don’t know if you can just forget to eat. Wouldn’t your instincts like, tell you to eat or something?”  
  
You shake your head. - “No, Susie, human psychology is tough. It doesn’t work like that.”  
  
“...Well then, if that’s how it is…”  
  
“It is.”  
  
Susie said there, silently, looking away from you.  
  
You sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder. She winced in surprise but looked at you.  
  
“Susie, don’t feel bad. It’s alright. Besides, you should feel good. If I laid there, and if I haven’t eaten, the outcome could’ve been dire. Could’ve been that I wouldn’t be alive anymore.” - You say, for some reason finding the right words perfectly.  
  
“W-What..?” - She said, taken aback, and afraid at what you just said.  
  
Her expression is full of horror. You need to change that.  
  
“Susie, I’m not all magic. You can’t just… Resurrect a human, that’s not how it works. If I were to die, that’s permanent. But, you stopped that from happening. You basically saved my goddamn life twice already.” - You muse, still somehow finding great words.  
  
“W-well… I couldn’t just leave you, could I?” - She said, looking away from you again.  
  
You squeeze her shoulder, causing her to look back at you, with a saddened expression.  
  
“You could’ve but guess what..? You didn’t.”  
  
“Man… Shit.” - Susie whispered, mostly to herself, perhaps still stricken by the tough reality that could’ve happened, if she ditched you.  
  
“Be proud of yourself, Susie… Now, I still promised you the hot chocolates, right?” - You say, offering her some sort of a reward. A meh-tier reward, but a reward nonetheless.  
  
“I dunno if I want that offer, man… I feel like I’ll just… Collapse now, you know? It’s uh, a lot to take in.” - She said, still with a frown on her lips.  
  
“Hey, don’t worry. I know it is…” - You said, agreeing… You realize that Susie looks quite tired. You decide to offer her to cool off a bit, and have a nap. - “And, say, how do you feel about sleeping here for a bit? You do look tired.”  
  
“Man, are you sure about that? I dunno if I really wanna do that.” - Susie said, even more awestruck at the offer.  
  
“After you wake up, we’ll get that chocolate. That’s the least I can do, and I won’t allow you to back away.” - You say, feeling confident in your offer.  
  
“You really won’t? What if I were to thrash you and leave?” - Susie said, having a short smile on her face. She seems to be calming down.  
  
“I’m tougher than I look and you wouldn’t do that anyway. No, I won’t chicken out. If you need rest, feel free to stay here. After you’ve rested, we’ll go for the chocolates.” - You reason.  
  
“You are one tough son of a goat… Fine then. Where can I hit the sack?” - Susie said, agreeing with you, and sighing.  
  
“Follow me. It’s upstairs.” - You say, already on your way to your room.  
  
\--  
  
Your room is messy, or rather, your side of it. Dust on the cabinet, unmade bed, and filled trash can. You know that Susie doesn’t know much about humans, so you calm yourself.  
  
She won’t find out about your freaky side.  
  
“Woah, dude… Your room is even messier than mine.” - She said, giggling.  
  
You giggle back. - “Hahah, yeah-yeah, it’s a creative space.”  
  
“Nah, dude. These trophies are the real creative space.” - She said, reaching her claw for a trophy.  
  
Your eyes are probably very wide, you quickly grab her hand, causing her to look at you with a confused expression.  
  
“P-please don’t touch them.” - You let out, with nervousness in your voice.  
  
“Huh? Dude, they’re made out of metal, right? They wouldn’t like break or anything.” - Susie said, meaning that she won’t break it, which is not what you were afraid of...  
  
“...Right, but… It’s my brothers’. Please, I keep them clean for that sole reason.” - You say, admit your reason to stopping her.  
  
Susie blinked, looked at the trophy and you, before yanking her arm carefully.  
  
“You..? But why won’t you clean your side of the room then?” - She then asked.  
  
You blink, trying to come up with a response. - “U-uh… I dunno, I just feel like I owe him.”  
  
“He’s your brother, why would you owe him anything..?” - She said, making much more sense than you did.  
  
“B-because… Actually, you know what? You’re right. I’ll clean my room later.” - You say, stopping the discussion immediately.  
  
“Good, because you can’t be worse than me, okay?” - Susie said, laughing humorlessly for a bit afterwards.  
  
“Okay. I won’t. Still, uh… You can use my bed, I’ll give you clean blankets.” - You say, getting to your cabinet, before her arm stopped you.  
  
“Nah, dude, I can just sleep in clothes. Besides, it’s not like I’m clean. Use the blankets later, for yourself, kay?” - Susie said, smirking.  
  
“Are you sure?” - You ask, with your eyebrow raised  
  
“Yeah, dude.” - She said, with a toothy grin.  
  
“Alright then.” - You said.  
  
Susie walked off, and sat on your bed.  
  
“So then, what will you do?” - She asks, readying herself to lay down.  
  
“I guess I’ll also nap for a little. The first one of us who wakes up, will need to awake the other one.” - You say, putting up the only rule  
  
“Deal sealed.” - She says.  
  
“Sealed deal.” - You say.  
  
“Alright then. I suppose that’s uhm… Goodnight?”  
  
“Suppose so, goodnight for now.”  
  
And thus, you two slowly but surely were getting absorbed by tiredness, and comfiness of the beds.  
  
...

 

_good night, Kris._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Next chapter..? Somewhere in the Summer. But where exactly - I don't know.
> 
> I wish I could tell you, but with my brilliant combination of low self-esteem and low motivation, it's very hard to make any calls towards it.
> 
> ...Just, please try to wait for it, okay? Thank you!
> 
> ...Good that I, at least, made it to that last promise anyway.
> 
> Thank you, to everyone who commented. You truly did give me a kick in the gut to finish it.


	3. Not an actual chapter... Update!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an update. Please don't bite me.

Hey... So... I-I'll just cut to the chase.

I know that, perhaps, all of you literally forgot about this fic even existing... Which, actually would be my fault, since I've neglected it from getting any updates.

And uh... Honestly? I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry! Don't fret though, AUC won't be dying now. I won't let it, it's my most ambitious project.

So... Where am I going with this? I'm going to be rewriting AUC from scratch... That's right! Rewriting it.

Why? Well, first reason would be is that my writing has improved, whilst AUC is pretty pretty dated already, so it's my older writing. Plus, I've gotten a ton of new ideas to include into it as well.

I've had a plan, actually multiple plans I've had, for AUC... With the rewrite, I will neglect a plan, and will base it off ideas, I think it'd be much better for me as a writer.

I want to make AUC the best work I could do yet, and for that I'm pretty sure I have to rewrite it. I'm actually looking forward doing it..! However, I really don't think the schedule will get any better, apologies! I'm in my final grade currently, so I have to give it my best, not to mention I'm still suffering from some unknown mental problems (to me they're unknown I guess), so I don't expect myself to suddenly put-out chapters, again: sorry!

However, to make up, I guess I can share a few ideas I've cooked up for the rewrite...

The first and foremost, would be making Kris a girl, not a boy. The reason behind it is that... I don't see female Kris getting much love anywhere, and I want to be a bit more creative with this little gimmick. I also want to say that I've read fanfics, which I really did not like, which had female Kris in them. It's on wattpad, and I won't be naming any fics. Don't even ask! And I'm not doing it because I dislike or sexuality, honestly I couldn't give less of a shit about it, I just think it would be fun...

And the second Idea I'll be sharing, is of course to give Kris a bully. That's right! A BULLY! As you may remember, I don't imagine Susie being a bully, not in the game, not in my fic, So I want to make Kris' life even more miserable, giving her a bully that'd give her a black-eye. But, of course, we have a protective dragon to help, so hooray! More bonding over something!

Those are not all ideas. In fact this is far from being most of my ideas! The concept of the whole rewritten thing is still quite early, so I dunno when you should expect it. I know that you should expect it here, on this very work!

Well, I've said all I wanted to say. Toodles! Till the next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid to tell me what you think.
> 
> Again, updates - unsure when; unsure how; unsure if. You shouldn't expect them 100%, but if they do come, please make sure to check this story for at least once a month if you liked it and want to see more. If there's nothing by then, well... You can think of what happened. You can contact me at any time though if you wanted, maybe I just need a good kick to get this story going further.
> 
> Ways to contact me are always on my profile here.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and being interested in my story.


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